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EZEKIEL  AND  DAl^IEL; 


"WITH 


N"OTES, 


CRITICAL,  EXPLANATORY,  AND  PRACTICAL, 


DESIGNED  FOR  BOTH  PASTORS  AND  PEOPLE. 


BY  y 

REV.  HENRY  COWLES,  D.  D. 


Understaudest  thou  what  thou  rcadest?    And  he  said,  IIow  can  I,  except  some 
man  should  guide  mo?"— Acts  8  :  30,  31. 


NEW  YORK : 
D.  APPLETON  AND  COMPANY, 

443  &  445  BROADWAY. 

1867. 


Eutcrcd,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1867,  by 

REV.   HENRY   COWLES, 

In  the  Clerk's  Omce  of  tlie  District  Court  of  tlie  United  States,  for  tlio  Northern 

District*  of  Ohio. 


PREFACE 


This  volume  is  a  continuation  of  the  series  on  all  the 
prophets  which  was  commenced  in  the  autumn  of  the  last 
year  by  the  publication  of  "The  Minor  Prophets."  The 
preface  and  general  introduction  to  the  prophetic  books, 
prefixed  to  that  volume,  need  not  be  repeated  here,  inas- 
much as  the  greater  part,  at  least,  of  the  readers  (^  this 
volume  may  be  suj)posed  to  have  access  to  that.  This  pur- 
sues the  same  general  plan,  aiming  to  be  concise  and  yet 
lucid,  and  to  bring  out  the  true  and  precise  sense  of  the 
original,  with  extended  discussion  only  upon  points  of  spe- 
cial interest  and  difficulty. 

The  reader  will  notice  that  Italics  are  used  in  the  text, 
as  in  our  English  Bibles,  to  signify  that  there  are  no  pre- 
cisely  corresponding  words  in  the  original  Hebrew;  but  in 
the  notes  they  are  used  for  emphasis. 

It  is  hoped  that  the  remaining  volumes  on  the  prophets, 
viz.,  on  Isaiah  and  on  Jeremiah,  will  follow  at  no  distant 
day. 

Obeelin,  Ohio,  July,  1867. 

(3) 


EZEKIEL. 


INTRODUCTION. 

The  just  interpretation  of  Ezekiel  will  turn  very  mucli 
upon  liis  circumstances  as  a  prophet.  Hence  tlie  usual  in- 
troductory questions  respecting  the  author,  his  date,  his 
residence,  and  his  people,  will,  in  his  case,  conduce  greatly 
to  disclose  the  main  purposes  of  his  prophetic  life,  and  con- 
sequently the  true  sense  of  his  prophecies.     Let  us  then,  in 

the  outset,  give  these  points  our  careful  attention. Of 

the  early  history  of  Ezekiel  we  know  only  that  he  was  the 
son  of  Buzi,  was  a  i^riest,  aid  was  taken  as  a  captive  to 
Chaldea  in  the  second  great  deportation,  which  occurred  in 
the  first  year  of  Jehoiachin,  B.  C.  600.  In  what  part  of 
Judea  he  had  previously  lived,  under  what  circumstances 
he  received  his  early  training,  and  at  what  age  he  was 
made  a  captive,  are  points  not  on  record.  They  can  be 
reached  only  by  doubtful  conjecture.  The  fact  that  he  was 
by  birth  and  training  a  goriest  accounts  for  the  remarkable 
type  of  the  last  nine  chapters  of  his  book.  Such  minute 
detail  as  we  find  in  that  vision  of  the  temple,  its  rituals 
and  surroundings,  could  by  no  means  be  expected  in  any 
prophet  who  was  not  perfectly  familiar  with  those  matters. 
The  divine  Spirit  adapts  himself  to  the  prophets  through 
whom  he  speaks,  evermore  using  terms,  figures,  and  modes 

(5) 


6  EZEKIEL— INTRODUCTION. 

of  illustration,  with  wliich  each  one  severally  may  be  con- 
versant. 

The  date  of  his  several  prophecies  is  mostly  given  Avith 
care  and  thus  placed  beyond  reasonable  doubt.  The  cap- 
tivity of  Jehoiachin  (B.  C.  GOO)  is  his  epoch.  Prophesying 
and  writing  with  and  for  the  Jews  in  captivity,  this  epoch 
was   for  them   altogether   appropriate,  and   was   doubtless 

their  own  in  current  use. His  book  opens  with  another 

epoch  in  the  words,  "  In  the  thirtieth  year,"  etc.  This  has 
given  rise  to  much  speculation.  I  reject  the  three  theories 
following,  viz. :  that  this  refers  to  his  own  age  ;  that  it  dates 
from  the  discovery  of  the  book  of  the  law  in  the  reign  of 
Josiah;  and  that  it  dates  from  the  last  Jubilee.  Either 
of  these  theories  is  too  capricious  to  be  adopted.  I  accede 
to  the  opinion  that  these  words  allude  to  the  new  Chaldean 
epoch  of  Nabopolassar,  the  father  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  which 
dates  from  the  fall  of  Nineveh,  B.  C,  625,  and  was  the 
great  epoch  of  the  profane  historians  of  those  and  of  sub- 
sequent times.  As  Ezekiel  wrote  among  the  Chaldeans,  it 
was  pertinent  that  he  should  make  so  much  allusion  to 
their  great  national  epoch.  Yet  since  his  prophecies  were 
intended  chiefly  for  the  use  of  the  Jews,  it  w^as  fitting  that 
after  this  brief  allusion  to  th^  Chaldean  epoch,  he  should 
drop  it,  and  in  all  other  cases  use  only  the  epoch  of  his 

own  people.     Such  is  the  fact. Following  this  Jewish 

epoch,  his  prophecies  commence  wdth  the  fifth  year  (chap. 
1 :  2),  and  close  (chap.  29 :  17)  with  the  twenty-seventh. 
The  last  nine  chapters  date  in  the  twenty-fifth  year.  Be- 
tween these  extremes  are  a  large  number  of  definite  dates, 
to  be  noticed  in  their  place. 

.  Ezekiel's  residence  in  Chaldea  is  said  to  have  been  "  by 
the  river  of  diehard  Some  commentators  have  identified 
this  river  with  the  Chaboras  of  Upper  Mesopotamia,  which 
falls  into  the  Euphrates  at  Circesium,  wdiile  others  have 
sought  traces  of  its  name  in  the  province  of  "  Habor  by 
the  river  of  Gozan"  (2  Kings  17:  6),  where  the  king  of 


EZEKIEL— INTRODUCTION.  7 

Assyria  located  some  of  his  captives  when  he  subverted  the 
kingdom  of  the  ten  tribes.  I  accept  the  more  recent  view, 
which  finds  this  "  river  of  Chebar  "  in  the  royal  canal  built 
by  Nebuchadnezzar,  the  greatest  of  all  those  artificial 
water-courses  which  were  among  the  stupendous  works  of 
his  reign.  The  word  Chebar  implies  something  great  and 
long.  The  Hebrew  orthography  is  not  the  same  with  that 
of  the  word  rendered  Habor  (2  Kings  17  :  6). The  tes- 
timony of  all  history,  sacred  and  profane,  locates  these  He- 
brew captives  near  Babylon,  and  not  in  the  remote  districts 
of  Upper  Mesopotamia.  It  scarcely  admits  of  question  that 
the  Jewish  captives  were  employed  in  excavating  these  im- 
mense canals,  and  hence  would  naturally  have  their  homes 
along  their  line.  This  view  may  explain  that  inimitable 
ode  (Ps.  137)  :  "  By  the  rivers  of  Babylon  there  we  sat 
down;  yea,  we  wept  when  we  remembered  Zion."  Along 
side  of  those  artificial  water-courses,  the  scenes  of  their 
daily  toil  and  weary  tasks,  how  often  had  they*  sat  down, 
exhausted  and  heart-sick,  to  weep  as  they  thought  of  their 

dear  but  desolate  Zion ! It  was  among  those  exiles,  and 

in  the  midst  of  such  surroundings,  that  Ezekiel  spent  his 
prophetic  life.  His  great  mission  from  God  was  to  bring 
moral  apj)liances  to  cooperate  with  physical  for  the  regen- 
eration of  those  exiles.  The  Lord  had  thrown  them  into 
his  crucible  of  sore  affliction;  he  therefore  sent  Ezekiel 
with  truths  divine — warnings,  exhortations,  counsels,  and 
promises,  to  perfect  the  v/ork  of  moral  renovation  for  which 
those  afflictions  were  designed. Let  it  not  be  forgot- 
ten that  the  great  national  sin  of  the  Jews  had  long  been 
idolatry.  The  history  of  the  rent  kingdoms  from  Jeroboam 
to  Hoshea,  and  from  Rehoboam  to  Zedekiah,  coupled  with 
the  testimony  of  the  Lord's  prophets  during  those  ages, 
shows  this  most  conclusively.  For  this  sin  the  people  of 
Judah  were  doomed  to  captivity  in  Babylon.  To  cure 
them  of  this  sin,  the  Lord  first  selected  the  better  portion 
to  go  into  captivity,  and  let  the  baser  portion  fall  by  the 


8  EZEKIEL— INTRODUCTION. 

sword,  famine  or  pestilence,  or  remain  in  the  land  to  go 
down  madly  into  Egypt  to  perisli  miserably  there. 

Jer.  24  is  a  special  prophecy  indicating  that  this  sifting 
process  lay  distinctly  in  the  plan  of  God.  But  to  make 
this  plan  successful,  other  agencies  w^ere  requisite  besides 
captivity  in  a  foreign  land. 

Among  these  other  agencies,  the  mission  of  Ezekiel  was 
prominent.  The  Lord  sent  him  forth  among  those  captives 
to  rebuke  idolatry ;  to  keep  vividly  before  them  the  enor- 
mity of  this  national  sin ;  to  show  them  how  horribly  cor- 
rupt their  brethren,  yet  remaining  in  Judah  and  Jerusalem, 
had  become ;  and  then  (as  in  chaps.  8-11)  to  receive  from 
the  Lord  a  great  panoramic  vision  of  those  sins,  and  of 
God's  ministering  and  avenging  angels,  marking,  and  scourg- 
ing, and  slaying  those  hoary  sinners ;  and  then,  by  report- 
ing, reproduce  it  to  the  eyes  of  his  fellow  captives.  This 
was  one  striking  method  of  making  the  judgments  for 
idolatry  inflicted  in  Jerusalem  available  for  moral  warning 
and  impression  upon  the  captives  in  Babylon.  With  a 
kindred  moral  aim,  the  Lord  sent  by  Ezekiel  many  a 
tender,  precious  promise  of  mercy  to  the  penitent,  »and  of 
restoration  to  the  faithful  in  the  fullness  of  his  own  time. 
Striking  analogies  appear  between  Ezekiel  and  Jere- 
miah, and  for  the  obvious  reason  that  both  had  the  same 
idolatrous  people  to  deal  with;  both  were  sent  of  God  to 
convict  the  people  of  the  guilt  of  the  same  great  national 
sin ;  both  were  God's  instruments  to  supplement  with  moral 
warnings  and  promises  the  influence  which  his  providences 
were  exerting,  yet  needed  those  moral  appliances  for  their 
more  sure  interpretation  and  best  efliciency.  Thus  the  major 
points  in  the  life  of  these  two  prophets  were  analogous,  yet 
there  were  minor  points  of  unlike  character.  Jeremiah 
spent  his  prophetic  life  in  Judea  and  in  Egypt;  Ezekiel, 
his  in  Chaldea.  Jeremiah's  public  labors  spanned  the  last 
eighteen  years  of  Josiah's  reign,  the  three  months'  reign  of 
Jehoahaz,  the  eleven  years'  reign  of  Jehoiakim,  and  five 


EZEKIEL— INTRODUCTION.  9 

years  into  the  captivity  of  Jelioiacliin,  before  Ezekiel  began 
his  prophetic  ministry ;  while  the  twenty-two  years  of  Eze- 
kiel's  prophetic  life  (named  as  its  minimum  length)  probably 

extended  somewhat  beyond   the  close  of  Jeremiah's.^ ■ 

Again,  Jeremiah  had  to  do  with  the  mass  of  Jewish  cor- 
ruption— with  the  very  worst  class  of  her  princes  and  people ; 
while  Ezekiel  had  only  the  better  part — base,  indeed,  but 
yet  not  the  basest — the  captivity  having  been  made,  under 
God,  itself  a  sifting  process,  to  destroy  and  otherwise  elim- 
inate the  vilest  portion,  and  to  save  the  more  hopeful  and 
less  contaminated.  Jeremiah  came  constantly  in  contact 
with  kings  on  their  thrones,  the  vv^icked  and  weak  sons  of 
the  good  Josiah,  and  found  his  trials,  intensified  exceedingly 
by  these  relations  of  prophetic  messenger  from  Him  who 
fills  the  infinite  throne  of  heaven  to  those  base  but  proud 
men  who  disgraced  their  little  seats  of  power  over  God's 

covenant  people. Ezekiel's  mission  lay  among  the  people 

and  their  elders  and  head  men,  but  no  proud  and  morally 
rotten  thrones  lay  in  his  way.     The  Lord  had  broken  down 

that  barrier  to  a  spiritual  reform  of  his  peoj)le. Jeremiah 

and  Ezekiel  both  prophesy  not  of  Jerusalem  and  the  Jews 
only,  but  of  other  and  contiguous  nations  also,  and  each  of 
them  for  the  same  general  reason.  The  Lord  involved  those . 
other  nations,  to  a  greater  or  less  extent,  in  the  same  fearful 
calamities  which  subverted  the  Jewish  kingdom.  They  had 
been  guilty  of  the  same  great  national  sins,  and,  therefore, 
must  needs  share  the  same  fearful  doom.  They  had  even 
given  the  Jews  their  own  idols,  and  must  now  bear  the  re- 
sponsibility of  this  sin  before  the  Most  High  God  and  before 
mankind.  Some  of  them  had  maliciously  exulted  over  the 
fall  of  Jerusalem,  and  had  thus  drawn  down  upon  themselves 
the  vengeance  of  Israel's  God ;  and  in  general  it  was  a  time 
of  retribution  on  the  guilty,  idolatrous  nations  of  the  age. 
Hence,  vengeance  having  begun  at  the  house  of  God,  it 
might  fitly  be  asked,  "  Where  shall  the  ungodly  and  the 
sinner  appear?"     (1  Pet.  4:  17,  18.)     They  could  not  go 


10  EZEKIEL— INTRODUCTION. 

altogether  unpunished.  (See  Jer.  25 :  29,  and  49 :  12.) 
Hence,  the  prophets  Jeremiah  and  Ezekiel  both  speak  of 
these  fearful  judgments  on  Ammon,  Tyre,  Edom,  and  EgyjDt, 
to  which  list  Jeremiah  adds  Babylon  and  many  others. 
The  main  objects  of  these  projihecies  seem  to  have  been  to 
assure  the  Jews  that  their  own  God  shaped  the  destinies  of 
all  these  heathen  kingdoms,  and  that  he  had  his  own  j)lans 
in  mind  beforehand,  and,  therefore,  could  predict  them 
through  his  servants ;  but  especially  to  impress  them  with 
a  more  deep  and  vivid  sense  of  God's  sure  retribution  on 
guilty  nations  for  their  national  sins.  This  sense  of  certain 
retribution  would  be  of  the  utmost  moment  in  its  bearings 
on  their  own  case. 

No  complaint  lies  against  Ezekiel  for  any  lack  of  order 
and  date  in  his  several  prophecies.  His  book  may  be  com- 
prehensively divided  into  two  equal  parts.  Of  his  forty- 
eight  chapters,  the  first  twenty-four  bear  to  the  same  point 
and  treat  of  the  same  general  theme,  being  addressed  di- 
rectly to  the  exiles,  recounting  their  own  sins  and  those  of 
their  brethren  in  Judea,  especially  in  the  line  of  idolatry 

and  heart-apostasy  from    God. The   second  portion   is 

more  miscellaneous,  embracing  prophecies  against  other 
nations ;  and  then,  in  the  line  of  God's  jealousy  for  his  own 
insulted  name,  there  shines  forth  his  glorious  purpose  to 
avenge  himself  upon  his  enemies,  and  to  purify  and  save 
his  own  people.  The  book  closes  with  far-reaching,  mag- 
nificent prophecies  of  ultimate  victory  on  Zion's  side  over 
all  his  foes,  and  of  unsurpassed  efiiciency  in  the  institutions, 
the  truth,  and  the  Spirit  of  the  living  God,  now  become 

gloriously  present  among  his  people. The  subdivisions 

of  these  parts  will  appear  as  we  proceed. 

Remarkably  we  find  in  Ezekiel  all  the  varieties  of  style 
that  appear  within  the  entire  range  of  the  Hebrew  prophets. 
He  has  pure  visions,  clearly  indicated  to  be  such  by  the  lan- 
guage which  introduces  or  closes  the  record ;  c.  g.,  chaps.  1, 
8-11,  37  and  40-48.    He  has  symbolic  actions,  also  indicated 


EZEKIEL— INTRODUCTION.  11 

in  the  record  itself;  e.  g.,  chap.  4,  5  and  12.  He  has  simili- 
tudes, as  of  the  vine-tree,  chaj).  15 ;  of  the  watchman,  chap. 
33 ;  and  of  the  shepherd  and  his  flock,  chap.  35.  He  has 
also  parables,  as  in  chap.  17 ;  an  elegiac  song  in  highly 
poetic  costume  in  chap.  19 ;  extended  allegories  in  chaps. 
23  and  24;  and,  finally,  plain,  unembellished  prophecy 
coupled  with  solemn  admonition,  or  with  tender,  hope-in- 

spirino;  promise. His  style  does  not  often  lack  elegance ; 

never,  force.  He  has  remarkable  power  in  grouping  a 
mass  of  somewhat  minute  details  in  a  way  to  heighten  the 
effect  exceedingly.  Witness  his  portrayal  of  the  horrible 
imj)urities  of  idolatry  in  Jerusalem  and  Samaria,  chap.  23 ; 
or  his  description  of  the  commerce,  the  splendor,  and  the  fall 

of  ancient  Tyre,  chaps.  27  and  28. His  spirit  and  style 

have  elicited  the  admiration  of  able  and  learned  critics. 
Havernick  speaks  of  him  as  "coming  forward  with  all 
abruptness  and  iron  consistency  in  an  age  when  prophecy 
was  most  rare.  Has  he  to  contend  with  a  people  of  brazen 
front  and  unbending  neck?  He  possessed,  on  his  own  part, 
an  unbending  nature,  opposing  the  evil  with  an  unflinching 
spirit  of  boldness  and  with  words  of  consuming  fire."  "  The 
glow  of  divine  indignation,  the  mighty  rushing  of  the  Spirit 
of  the  Lord,  and  the  holy  majesty  of  Jehovah  as  the  seer 
beheld  it,  are  remarkably  reflected  in  his  writings.  The 
lofty  action,  the  torrent  of  his  eloquence,  rest  on  the  same 
combination  of  power  and  consistency — the  one  as  unwea- 
ried as  the  other  is  imposing." Hengstenberg  also  gives 

his  glowing  testimony  to  the  same  points :  "  The  Lord  be- 
gan to  fulfill  his  good  word,  given  to  the  exiles  through 
Jeremiah,  by  causing  Ezekiel  to  aj^pear  in  the  midst  of 
them,  who  raised  his  voice  like  a  trumpet  and  showed  to 
Israel  his  misdeeds ;  wdiose  word,  like  a  threshing  machine, 
passed  over  all  those  sweet  hopes  and  purposes  and  ground 
them  to  the  dust ;  whose  whole  manifestations  furnished  the 
strongest  proof  that  the  Lord  was  still  among  his  people ; 
who  was  himself  a  temple  of  the  Lord,  before  whom  the 


12  EZEKIEL— INTRODUCTION. 

apparent  temple,  wliich  still  stood  at  Jerusalem  for  a  short 
time  sunk  back  into  its  own  nothingness;  a  spiritual  Sam- 
son, who,  with  a  strong  arm,  seized  the  pillars  of  the  tem- 
ple and  dashed  it  to  the  ground;  an  energetic,  gigantic 
nature,  who  was  thereby  suited  effectually  to  counteract 
the  Babylonish  spirit  of  the  time,  which  loved  to  manifest 
itself  in  violent,  gigantic,  and  grotesque  forms;  one  who 
stood  alone,  but  was  yet  equal  to  a  hundred  of  the  schol- 
ars of  the  prophets.  The  extent  of  his  influence  appears 
from  the  fact  that  the  oldest  of  the  people  were  accustomed 
to  assemble  in  his  house  in  order  to  hear  the  words  of  the 
Lord  through  him — a  sign  of  the  public  and  formal  ac- 
knowledgment of  his   spiritual  dignity  in  the  colony." — 

Christology,  vol.  3,  pp.  459,  460. The  general  style  of 

his  symbols,  especially  in  his  first  and  tenth  chapters,  is 
largely  Chaldean,  and,  so  far  forth,  is  due  to  his  Chaldean 
surroundings.  The  Jews  for  whom  he  wrote,  residing  in 
Chaldea,  had  become  familiar  there  with  these  modes  of 
representation.  The  Chaldeans  who  might  read  his  writ- 
ings would  readily  appreciate  the  beauty  and  force  of  these 
symbols.  His  own  mind  had  felt  their  powder  as  presented 
in  Chaldean  works  of  art.  Hence  the  divine  Spirit  revealed 
himself  to  the  prophet's  mind  in  these  symbols  because  they 
were,  in  that  age  and  to  that  peoj)le,  a  readily  intelligible 
and  even  forcible  mode  of  representation.  They  were  almost 
the  language  of  the  common  peoj)le.  If  obscure  to  us,  their 
obscurity  is  mainly  due  to  their  being  a  foreign  tongue — a 
sort  of  symbolic  speech  which  had  its  home  in  the  valley 
of  the  Euphrates,  and  in  the  age  of  proud  Nineveh  and 
Babylon,  but  which  has  long  since  ceased  to  be  a  living 
tongue.  The  recent  disinterment  of  so  many  sculptures 
and  various  works  of  art  from  the  l-uins  of  those  cities 
affords  us  a  pertinent  key  to  the  significance  of  these  sym- 
bols and  an  ample  explanation  of  their  appearance  in  the 
prophecies  of  Ezekiel.* 

-Those  who  have  read  Layard's  Nineveh,  or  who  have  made  them- 


EZEKIEL— INTRODUCTION.  13 

The  style  of  representation  in  this  first  vision  is,  in  part, 
Jewish,  and,  in  so  far  forth,  will  be  illustrated  in  the  notes. 

selves  familiar  otherwise  witli  the  modern  discoveries  in  the  ruins  of 
ancient  Nineveh  and  Babylon,  will  readily  recall  those  figures,  either 
sculptured  or  painted,  of  a  composite  character,  made  up  of  selected  por- 
tions of  various  animals;  e.  g.  "  winged,  human-headed  bulls  (Layard, 
p.  85) ;  "gigantic  winged  bulls;  "  "small  winged  lions"  (p.  32) ;  a  figure 
"  with  the  head  of  the  lion,  the  body  of  a  man,  and  the  feet  of'a  bird" 
(p.  229).  Or,  again,  "  a  human  body  clothed  in  robes,  with  the  head  of  an 
eagle  or  a  vulture ;  a  curved  beak,  half  open,  disclosing  a  narrow-pointed 
tongue;  over  the  shoulders,  the  usual  curled,  bushy  hair  of  the  Assyrian 
images ;  a  comb  of  feathers  rising  on  the  top  of  the  head ;  two  wings 
springing  from  the  back ;  and  in  either  hand  was  the  usual  square  ves- 
sel and  the  flr  cone— the  former  supposed  to  be  significant  of  gifts  be- 
stowed by  the  gods ;  the  latter,  being  specially  inflammable,  may  have 
symbolized  fire— an  element  associated,  in  oriental  minds,  with  the  qual- 
ities or  the  home  of  the  gods."  Layard  suggests  that  "  this  effigy  proba- 
cy typified  by  its  mystic  forms  the  vmion  of  certain  divine  attributes  " 

(pp.  45-47). Again,  on  pp.  51, 52,  is  an  extended  description  of  a  second 

pair  of  winged,  human-headed  lions,  the  human  shape  continued  to 
the  waist,  with  human  arms  and  with  the  legs  of  a  lion ;  twelve  feet  in 
height,  and  as  many  in  length ;  expanded  wings  sprang  from  the  shoul- 
der and  spread  over  the  back.  A  knotted  girdle,  ending  in  tassels,  encir- 
cled the  loins.    All  was  found  in  a  state  of  perfect  preservation. Of 

these  figures,  Mr.  Layard  expresses  his  views  and  reflections  thus :  "  I 
used  to  contemplate  for  hours  these  mysterious  emblems,  and  muse  over 
their  intent  and  history.  What  more  noble  forms  could  have  ushered 
the  people  into  the  temple  of  their  gods  ?  What  more  sublime  images 
could  have  been  borrowed  from  nature  by  men  who  sought,  unaided  by 
the  light  of  revelation,  to  embody  their  conception  of  the  wisdom,  power, 
and  ubiquity  of  a  Supi'eme  Being?  They  could  find  no  better  type  of 
intellect  and  knowledge  than  the  head  of  the  man ;  of  strength,  than  the 
body  of  a  lion ;  of  ubiquity,  than  the  wings  of  a  bird.  These  winged, 
human-headed  lions  were  not  idle  creations,  the  ofispring  of  mere  fancy; 
their  meaning  was  written  upon  them.  They  had  awed  and  instructed 
races  which  flourished  three  thousand  years  ago  "  (p.  52). 


14   .  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  I. 


CHAPTER   I. 

The  remarkable  vision  recorded  in  this  chapter  served  to  intro- 
duce Ezekicl  to  his  prophetic  work.  It  was  a  species  of  theophany 
analo<i;ous  to  that  made  to  Isaiah,  as  recorded  in  his  sixth  chapter, 
and  to  John,  Ilev.  1 :  10-20.  How  admirably  it  was  adapted  to 
prepare  him  for  his  mission  will  be  better  seen  when  we  have  cari3- 
fully  studied  its  import  and  in  some  i!;ood  measure  comprehended 
its  symbols.     We  shall  find  them  richly  significant. 

1.  Now  it  came  to  pass  in  the  thirtieth-  year,  in  the 
fourth  month,  in  the  fifth  day  of  the  month,  as  I  was  among 
the  captives  by  the  river  of  Chebar,  that  the  heavens  were 
opened,  and  I  saw  visions  of  God. 

2.  In  the  fifth  day  of  the  month,  wliicli  was  the  fifth 
year  of  king  Jehoiachin's  captivity, 

3.  The  word  of  the  Lord  came  expressly  unto  Ezekiel 
the  priest,  the  son  of  Buzi,  in  the  land  of  the  Chaldeans  by 
the  river  Chebar ;  and  the  hand  of  the  Lord  was  there  upon 
him. 

As  said  above  in  the  general  introduction,  I  find  this  "thir- 
tieth year"  in  the  new  Chaldean  epoch  of  Nabopolassar,  father  of 
Nebuchadnezzar,  which  reckoned  its  years  from  the  fall  of  Nine- 
veh, 13.  C.  625.  Every  other  theory  is  capricious  and  without  ade- 
quate foundation.  This  is  natural,  and  meets  all  the  conditions  of 
the  case ;  for  the  very  brevity  of  the  allusion  shows  that  the  epoch 
must  have  been  well  known,  and  goes  far  to  prove  that  it  was  the 
common  epoch  of  the  place,  the  people,  and  the  age — in  other 
words,  that  it  was  Chaldean.  A  prophecy  written  in  Chaldea 
should  naturally,  first  of  all,  connect  itself  with  the  current  Chal- 
dean epoch.  So  much  deference  to  their  national  history  would 
seem  due  to  that  people.  Yet,  since  the  prophecy  was  chiefly  for 
the  Jews,  no  more  than  this  brief  connecting  link  could  be  de- 
manded. This  would  enable  the  Chaldeans  to  compare  Jewish 
dates  with  their  own,  and  thus  locate  each  several  message.  For 
his  common  epoch  Ezekiel  would  manifestly  prefer  the  JeAvish. 

These  captives  are,  of  course,  the  Jewish  exiles,  located,  as 
shown  in  the  introduction,  along  the  royal  canal  of  Nebuchadnez- 
zar, the  great  and  long  river,  as  the  word  Chebar  without  much 
doubt  indicates.  These  "visions  of  God"  are  not  merely  visions 
given  by  God  through  his  revealing  Spirit,  but  visions  of  God, 
visions,  the  special  purpose  of  which  was  to  reveal  God  himself  in 
certain  great  aspects  of  his  providential  agency.  The  "fifth  year 
of  king  "Jehoiachin's  captivity"  follows  the  Jewish  epoch,  dating 
from  tiie  captivity  of  Jehoiacliin,  son  of  Jehoiakim,  and  last  king 
of  Judah  save  one,  his  uncle  Zcdekiah.  This  captivity  occurred, 
B.  C.  600.     Hence  both  this  epoch  and  the  Chaldean  locafe  this 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  I.     "  15 

first  vision  of  Ezekiel  B.  C.  595.  See  2  Chron.  36:  9,  10,  and  2 
Kings  24  :  1-16.  The  words  "  came  expressly  "  translate  the  usual 
emphatic  Hebrew  phrase  which  repeats  the  infinite  absolute  before 
.the  finite  verb;  "coming,  it  came,  i.  e.,  it  certainly  came;  came 
with  the  clearest  demonstrations  of  its  actuality.  "  The  hand  of 
the  Lord  was  there  upon  him,"  is  the  usual  phrase  to  indicate  the 
special  agency  of  the  divine  Spirit  in  revealing  himself  to  his  serv- 
ants the  prophets.  See  other  cases  of  its  use  in  chap.  3:  14-22, 
and  37:  1,  and  in  the  same  sense,  though  with  various  phrase,  Jer. 
1:  7,  10,  and  20:  7. 

4.  And  I  looked,  and,  behold,  a  whirlwind  came  ont  of 
the  north,  a  great  cloud,  and  a  fire  infolding  itself,  and  a 
brightness  was  about  it,  and  out  of  the  midst  thereof  as  the 
color  of  amber,  out  of  the  midst  of  the  fire. 

Before  I  enter  upon  the  particular  description  of  this  wonderful 
vision,  it  may  aid  the  reader  if  I  state  in  few  words  what  I  take 
to  be  its  general  import. 

I  do  not  regard  it  as  an  unm-eaning  display  of  things  magnificent, 
grotesque,  and  marvelous,  nor,  strictly  speaking,  as  an  attempt  to 
represent  by  symbols  the  essential  nature  of  the  Infinite  God ;  but 
I  suppose  it  to  be  a  symbolic  representation  of  the  moveable  base  of 
the  throne  of  God  incarnate — this  incarnate  God  being  considered 
as  manifesting  himself  in  his  providential  government  of  our  world. 
As  here  represented,  his  throne  rests  on  a  lofty,  magnificent  plat- 
form Or  solid  floor,  which  floor  itself  reposes  on  the  bodies  and 
wings  of  "the  living  creatures"  that  are  so  graphically  portrayed 
in  this  vision.  The  whole  representation  contemplates  the  varied 
agencies  of  God's  providence  as  combining  the  utmost  energy,  wis- 
dom, celerity,  efficiency,  and  grandeur,  and  is  designed  to  show 
how  He  moves  among  the  nations  of  men,  lifting  up  and  casting 
down  at  his  will,  scourging  for  sin,  and  purifying  by  discipline, 
evermore  just  and  righteous,  and  making  his  movements  conspire 
to  the  exalted  and  worthy  ends  of  his  own  glory  and  of  human  sal- 
vation.  Let  us  now  look  carefully  into  the  several  features  of  this 

delineation.  The  vision  opens  with  surpassing  grandeur.  A 
whirlwind  rolls  up  from  the  north  with  a  great  cloud  and  a  fire  which 
perpetually  takes  hold  of  itself  (so  the  Heb.),  making  one  vast  con- 
tinuous sheet  of  flame.  A  brightness  invests  .the  whole,  of  the 
color  of  "amber,"  or,  as  many  modern  critics  prefer,  of  "burnished 
brass."  All  the  ideas  of  that  age  seem  to  have  located  the  home 
of  the  gods  in  the  north — a  sentiment  due  perhaps  to  the  Aurora 
Borealis,  which  they  seem  to  have  thought  of  as  the  occasional  il- 
lumination of  the  palace  halls  of  the  gods.  Thus  Isaiah  (14:  13) 
makes  his  proud  Lucifer  (the  great  monarch  of  Babylon)  say,  "I 
will  exalt  my  throne  above  the  stars  of  God ;  I  will  sit  also  upon 
the  mount  of  the  congregation,  in  the  sides  of  the  norths  Perhaps 
it  was  with  some  reference  to  those  ideas  that  this  magnificent 
vision  of  Jehovah's  movinfi;  throne  comes  forth  from  the  north. 


16"  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  I. 

5.  Also  out  of  the  midst  thereof  came  the  likeness  of  four 
living  creatures.  And  this  was  their  appearance ;  they  had 
the  likeness  of  a  man. 

6.  And  every  one  had  four  faces,  and  every  one  had  four 
wings. 

7.  And  their  feet  were  straight  feet;  the  sole  of  their 
feet  was  like  the  sole  of  a  calf's  foot ;  and  they  sparkled  like 
the  color  of  burnished  brass. 

8.  And  they  had  the  hands  of  a  man  under  their  wings 
on  their  four  sides ;  and  they  four  had  their  faces  and  their 
wings. 

9.  Their  wings  were  joined  one  to  another ;  they  turned 
not  when  they  went ;  they  went  every  one  straight  forv»' ard. 

Now  there  came  forth  from  the  blaze  of  this  effulgence  what 
seemed  like  four  living  creatures  in  whom  the  human  form  pre- 
dominates. Yet  each  one  had  four  faces  and  also  four  wings. 
Their  feet,  moreover,  were  not  those,  of  a  man,  but  of  a  calf  or  ox, 
yet  sparkling  with  radiance  like  that  of  burnished  brass.  They 
had  also  the  hand  of  a  man  under  their  wings.  Two  of  these  wings, 
making  one  pair,  were  joined  together.  Remarkably  they  made 
no  turn  in  their  movements,  but  went  in  straight  lines,  evermore 
straight  forward.  Probably  this  fact  takes  its  significance  from 
that  law  of  mind  which  associates  moral  perversity  with  turning 
from  a  right  line.  The  path  of  right  and  duty  is  thought  of' as 
being  straight,  but  never  crooked.  God's  providential  agencies 
are  evermore  true  and  righteous  altogether.  It  may  indicate  that 
in  both  discipline  and  retribution  God  moves  straight  on  to  his 
purposed  end.  The  symbol  of  the  calf  or  ox  may  have  a  place 
here  to  indicate  the  solid,  massive  strength  requisite  to  suj^port  so 
vast  a  structure  as  the  throne  of  the  Almighty.  The  reader  will 
note  that  many  of  these  symbols  appeared  to  the  Jews  in  actual 
life  in  the  vast  "molten  sea"  connected  with  Solomon's  temple. 
This  sea  stood  on  twelve  oxen,  and,  morever,  had  in  its  ornamental 
work  sculptured  lions,  oxen,  and  cherubim,  coupled  also  with 
wheels  as  in  this  vision  of  Ezekiel.  See  1  Kings  7:  23-33.  In 
some  respects,  therefore,  this  grouping  of  symbols  was  Hebraic, 
while  in  others  it  was  Chaldean.  The  grouping  of  diverse  animal 
figures  in  one  nondescript  S3'mbol  is  very  common,  as  above 
shown,  in  the  Clialdean  monuments  of  that  age. 

10.  As  for  the  likeness  of  their  faces,  they  four  had  the 
face  of  a  man,  and  the  face  of  a  lion,  on  the  right  side :  and 
they  four  had  the  fiice  of  an  ox  on  the  left  side ;  they  four 
also  had  the  face  of  an  eagle. 

11.  Thus  were  their  faces:  and  their  wings  were  stretched 
upward  ;  two  wings  of  every  one  were  joined  one  to 'another, 
and  two  covered  their  bodies. 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  I.  17 

12.  And  they  went  every  one  straight  forward :  whither 
the  spirit  was  to  go,  they  went;  and  they  turned  not  when 
they  went. 

This  account  of  the  location  of  the  several  faces  is  not  quite 
explicit,  but  there  can  scarcely  be  a  doubt  that  these  four  diverse 
faces  looked  each  in  its  several  direction,  the  human  face  in  front, 
the  lion  face  to  the  right,  the  face  like  the  ox  to  the  left,  and  that 
of  the  eagle  backward  to  the  rear.  Of  their  four  wings,  two  were 
joined  and  stretched  upward,  while  the  other  two  fell  and  covered 
their  bodies.  Somewhat  like  this  were  the  wings  of  the  cherubim 
as  seen  by  Isaiah  (chap.  6 :  2).  They  had  each  six  wings :  one  pair 
covering  the  face,  one  the  feet,  and  the  other  used  for  flight.  Here 
again  we  may  note  that  all  movement  is  straight  forward,  with  no 
turning.  They  go  as  the  spirit  in  them  impels ;  this  whole  repre- 
sentation being  designed  to  show  that  the  magnificent  agencies 
of  God's  universal  providence  are  every-where  and  for  evermore 
permeated  and  controlled  by  his  ovrn  ever-present  will — the  one 
Infinite  Mind  guiding  and  ruling  all. 

13.  As  for  the  likeness  of  the  living  -creatures,  their  ap- 
pearance was  like  burning  coals  of  fire,  and  like  the  ap- 
pearance of  lamps :  it  went  up  and  down  among  the  living 
creatures ;  and  the  fire  was  bright,  and  out  of  the  fire  went 
forth  lightning. 

14.  And  the  living  creatures  ran  and  returned  as  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  flash  of  lightning. 

To  heighten  the  grandeur  of  this  magnificent  portrayal,  these 
living  creatures  now  seem  to  have  the  appearance  of  coals  of  fire 
that  burn  like  lamps.  One  clause  seems  to  say  that  this  fire  shoots 
and  darts  among  these  living  creatures — a  fire  invested  with  a 
glorious  radiance  out  of  which  lightnings  flashed ;  while  another 
clause  has  it  that  the  living  creatures  themselves  ran  and  returned 
like  flashes  of  lightning.  Probably  he  meant  to  say  both  these 
things;  probably  both  were  seen  in  the  vision.  How  grand. and 
sublime  must  that  scene  have  been ! 

15.  Now  as  I  beheld  the  living  creatures,  behold  one 
wheel  upon  the  earth  by  the  living  creatures,  v/ith  his  four 
faces. 

16.  The  appearance  of  *the  wheels  and  their  work  was 
like  unto  the  color  of  a  beryl :  and  they  four  had  one  like- 
ness :  and  their  appearance  and  their  work  was  as  it  were  a 
wheel  in  the  middle  of  a  wheel. 

17.  When  they  went,  they  went  upon  their  four  sides; 
and  they  turned  not  when  they  went. 

Wheels  are  an  expressive  syml^ol  of  power  and  rapid  motion. 


18  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  I. 

As  to  the  number  of  wheels  in  this  combination  of  symbols,  v.  15, 
seems  to  indicate  but  one;  but  vs.  16  and  18  both  speak  of  four, 
and  so  also  docs  the  coordinate  description  in  chap.  10:  9,  10. 
These  wheels  were  sparkling  and  brilliant,  shining  like  polished 
gems.  But  the  most  remarkable  feature  was  their  combination, 
said  to  be  "as  it  were  a  wheel  in  the  middle  of  a  wheel."  Accor- 
ding to  this  description,  they  might  be  concentric  and  in  the  same 
plane,  or  they  might  be  concentric  and  yet  in  different  planes, 
say  at  right  angles.  From  the  account  of  their  motion  in  any  di- 
rection without  turning,  the  latter  seems  to  have  been  their  form. 
This  is  the  view  of  the  ablest  modern  commentators.  AVe  need 
not  trouble  ourselves  with  the  fact  that  no  axletree  could  be  made 
to  work  in  two  such  concentric  double  wheels,  so  that  they  could 
run  in  planes  at  right  angles  to  each  other.  For  this  moveable  base 
for  the  throne  of  God  was  seen  in  prophetic  vision,  and  not  in 
the  actual  world ;  was  constituted  to  be  seen — not  to  run  in  the 
buniness  of  real  life;  and  had  for  its  object  a  certain  impression 
on  the  mind  of  the  prophet,  and  not  any  particular  result  in  the 
mechanical  world. 

18.  As  for  their  rings,  they  were  so  high  that  they  were 
dreadful;  and  their  rings  were  full  of  eyes  round  about 
them  four. 

"Rings,"  as  used  here,  mean  the  rims,  the  periphery,  or  felloes 
of  the  wheels.  Their  height,  so  great  that  they  seemed  "dreadful," 
represents  the  wheels  as  of  immense  size,  towering  aloft  in  the  air 
with  magnificence  fearfully  sublime.  Then  the  periphery  of  these 
wheels  was  full  of  eyes  all  round  about,  indicating  perfect  intel- 
ligence, and  giving  the  impression  of  piercing  thought  and  most 
vivid  expressiveness. 

19.  And  when  the  living  creatures  .went,  the  wheels  went 
by  them :  and  when  the  living  creatures  were  lifted  up  from 
the  earth,  the  wheels  w^ere  lifted  up. 

20.  Whithersoever  the  spirit  Avas  to  go,  they  went,  thither 
was  their  spirit  to  go;  and  the  wheels  w^ere  lifted  up  over 
against  them :  for  the  spirit  of  the  living  creature  w^as  in 
the  wheels. 

21.  AVhen  those  went,  these  went ;  and  when  those  stood, 
these  stood  ;  and  when  those  were  lifted  up  from  the  earth, 
the  wheels  were  lifted  up  over  against  them :  for  the  spirit 
of  the  living  creature  was  in  the  wheels. 

Next  we  have  the  same  elements  of  life  and  self-acting  inspira- 
tion in  these  wheels  as  in  the  living  creatures  themselves.  The 
wheels  constantly  attend  the  living  creatures  as  if  moved  by  one 
common  impulse  and  will.  This  was  one  of  the  most  striking 
features  in  this  wonderful  combination  of  symbols.      It  could  not 


EZEKIEL— CHAP.  I.  10 

signify  less  or  other  than  that  God's  providences  always  have  a 
meaning;  always  aim  at  some  wise  purpose;  are  evermore  guided 
by  one  and  the  same  supreme  and  all-pervading  divine  will. 

22.  And  the  likeness  of  the  firmament  upon  the  heads  of 
the  living  creature  was,  as  the  color  of  the  terrible  crystal, 
stretched  forth  over  tlieir  heads  above. 

23.  And  under  the  firmament  were  their  wings  straight, 
the  one  toward  the  other :  every  one  had  tw^o,  which  cov- 
ered on  this  side,  and  every  one  had  two,  which  covered  on 
that  side,  their  bodies.  • 

Here  we  begin  to  reach  the  purpose  and  work  of  this  remarkable 
combination  of  symbols.  These  living  creatures  bear  upon  their 
heads  and  upon  their  straight  wings,  a  firmament,  {.  e.,  a  solid 
expanse,  platform,  or  elevated  floor.  Its  appearance  was  in  color 
"like  the  terrible  crystal" — so  brilliant  and  dazzling  as  to  be  even 
fearful  to  behold.      Upon  this  base,  as  we  shall  soon  see,  reposed 

the  throne  of  the  incarnate  God. The  prophet  again  refers  to 

the  position  of  the  two  sets  of  wings,  one  set  straight  and  joined 
together,  assisting  to  support  the  firmament,  somewhat  like  the 
wings  of  the  cherubim  in  the  most  holy  place.  When  the  living 
creatures  stood,  the  other  set  fell  gracefully  down  and  protected 
their  bodies. 

24.  And  when  they  went,  I  heard  the  noise  of  their 
wings,  like  the  noise  of  great  waters,  as  the  voice  of  the 
Almighty,  the  voice  of  speech,  as  the  noise  of  an  host; 
when  they  stood,  they  let  down  their  wings. 

25.  And  there  was  a  voice  from  the  firmament  that  was 
over  their  heads,  when  they  stood,  and  had  let  down  their 
wings. 

As  if  to  combine  every  element  of  grandeur  and  sublimity,  and 
appeal  to  every  sense,  the  sound  of  their  wings,  when  in  motion, 
was  as  the  roar  of  great  waters,  like  the  voice  of  the  Almighty 
God  himself  In  the  clause,  "The  voice  of  speech  as  the  noise  of 
an  host,"  the  Hebrew  does  not  imply  the  utterance  of  articulate 
words,  but  should  rather  be  rendered,  "  The  sound  of  their  noise 
was  as  the  sound  of  an  host,"  i,  e.,  of  an  army  rushing  to  battle. 
There  may  have  been  the  voice  of  articulate  words  from  above  the 
firmament,  {.  e.,  from  the  glorious  personage  who  sat  on  the  throne; 

V.  25  seems  to  imply  this. The  reader  will  readily  recall  the 

manifestations  made  by  the  "Alpha  and  Omega,"  by  Him  who  is 
both  the  first  and  the  last,  to  John,  the  Revelator,  as  in  Rev.  1  : 
10-16,  "His  voice  was  as  the  sound  of  many  waters,  and  his  face 
as  the  sun  when  he  shineth  in  his  strength." 

26.  And  above  the  firmament  that  was  over  their  heads 
was  the  likeness  of  a  throne,  as  the  apj^earance  of  a  sapphire 


20  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  I. 

stone:  and  upon  the  likeness  of  the  throne  was  the  likeness 
as  the  appearance  of  a  man  above  it. 

27.  And  I  saw  as  the  color  of  amber,  as  the  appearance 
of  fire  round  about  within  it,  from  the  appearance  of  his 
loins  even  upward,  and  from  the  appearance  of  his  loins 
even  downward,  I  saw  as  it  were  the  appearance  of  fire,  and 
it  had  brightness  round  about. 

The  vital  points  in  this  description  are  plain,  and  they  are  also 
richly  significant  and  sublime.  Here  is  the  throne,  for  the  sake 
of  supporting  wRich,  and  of  moving  it  also,  we  have  seen  a  won- 
derful combination  of  living  creatures,  wings  and  wheels,  witli 
various  accompanying  symbols  of  intelligence,  energy,  splendor, 
and  majesty.  Here  also — more  really  sublime  than  all  the  rest — 
is  the  appearance  of  a  man  upon  this  throne.  From  his  loins  up- 
ward, and  from  his  loins  downward,  he  seemed  as  one  begirt  with 
fire — the  brightness  of  fire,  and  the  effulgence  of  the  most  mag- 
nificent pearls  and  gems,  combining  to  invest  him  with  ineffable 
glory.  This  personage  can  be  no  other  than  the  incarnate  Son 
of  God,  the  great  Lord  of  universal  providence,  appearing  in  this 
majestic  form  to  his  servant  Ezekiel,  much  as  the  same  personage 
appeared  to  Isaiah  (chap.  6),  of  which  case,  John  in  his  Gospel 
(chap.  12:  41)  tells  us  that  Isaiah  then  and  there  "saw  the  glory 
of  Jesus  and  spake  of  him."  Numerous  proofs  might  be  adduced 
to  show  that  repeatedly,  during  the  course  of  the  Old  Testament 
age,  Jesus  Christ  anticipated  his  incarnation  by  appearing  in 
human  form  to  his  people.  He  appeared  thus  to  Manoah  and  his 
wife  (Judges  13:  2-23),  giving  them  his  name,  "Wonderful"  (not 
"secret"),  using  the  identical  word  which  Isaiah  gives  as  one  of 
his  names  (Isa.  9:  6),  ^^  Wonde7'fui,  Counsellor,  the  Mighty  God," 
etc. "This  is  also  He  who  was  with  his  church  in  the  wilder- 
ness," as  Stephen  affirms  (Acts  7 :  38),  and  as  the  narrative  (Ex. 
23 :  20-23)  most  plainly  indicates.  It  was  therefore  only  a  sub- 
sequent appearance  of  the  same  glorious  personage  which  was 
vouchsafed  to  John  in  Patmos  with  a  luster  and  effulgence  of 
glories  closely  analogous  to  what  we  have  here. 

28.  As  the  appearance  of  the  bow  that  is  in  the  cloud  in 
the  day  of  rain,  so  was  the  appearance  of  the  brightness 
round  about.  This  was  the  appearance  of  the  likeness  of 
the  glory  of  the  Lord.  And  when  I  saw  it,  I  fell  upon  my 
face,  and  I  heard  the  voice  of  one  that  spake. 

The  final  touch  to  this  inimitable  representation  compares  it  to 
the  radiance  of  the  "  bow  in  the  cloud  in  the  day  of  rain."  Such 
was  the  brightness  and  glory  that  invested  the  incarnate  Deity. 
Thus  the  Shechinah  revealed  himself  to  Ezekiel  to  impress  his 
Boul  with  the  magnificence,  the  energy,  and  the  glory  of  Him 
whose  work  he  was  now  to  undertake,  whose  mission  as  a  prophet 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  I.  21 

he  was  to  fulfill,  whose  words  he  was  to  hear  and  then  to  bear  to 
his  people.  What  an  installation  this  into  his  prophetic  work ! 
No  wonder  he  fell  on  his  face  as  one  overwhelmed  with  reverence 

and  awe  ! Let  it  be  noted  yet  further  that  this  portrayal  was 

specially  pertinent  in  view  of  the  fact  that  God's  providential 
agencies  were  then  intensely  active  among  the  nations,  and  espe- 
cially toward  the  Jews  in  both  discipline  and  judgment — the  dis- 
cipline that  chastened  to  reclaim,  and  the  judgments  that  scourged 
in  stern  and  awful  retribution.  Into  the  midst  of  these  agencies 
Ezekiel  was  thrown.  He  was  commissioned  as  a  prophet  of  God 
to  cooperate  by  the  use  of  moral  agencies  with  those  providential 
agencies  of  the  Almighty,  He  was  to  interpret  the  significance 
of  those  judgments.  He  was  to  warn  the  people  to  repent,  as 
they  would  escape  such  inflictions.  He  was  to  press  them  to  re- 
pentance by  the  promise  of  pardoning  mercy.  In  every  appropri- 
ate way  he  was  to  supplement  those  agencies  of  providence  with 
the  concurrent  influences  of  God's  revealed  truth.  Hence  nothing 
could  be  more  vital  than  to  impress  upon  his  mind  the  qualities 
of  that  fearfully  glorious  and  energetic  divine  providence  which  iu 
its  intensified  forms  was  now  being  manifested  toward  the  chosen 

people. Moreover,  nothing  could  have  been  better  adapted  to 

impart  to  him  a  baptism  of  reverence,  docility,  energy,  and  self- 
sacrificing  devotion.  Under  the  influence  of  such  views  of  the 
glorious  Being  whose  behestp  he  is  commissioned  to  bear  to  the 
people,  how  could  he  falter  before  hardship  or  danger?  How 
could  he  fail  to  carry  with  him  through  life  a  sense  of  the  glory 
of  his  Divine  Master,  saying  evermore  :  •  ^^  I  serve  the  ineffably  glo- 
rious incarnate  God;    and  I  must  be  true  and  faithful !" 

Some  minds  will  naturally  ask.  What  proof  do  you  give  your 
readers  that  your  interpretation  of  this  chapter  is  the  true  one  ? 
To  such  I  answer  briefly:  The  fact  that  it  meets  all  the  conditions 
of  the  case.  It  fits  every  circumstance.  It  is  pertinent  to  an  in- 
auguration of  Ezekiel  to  his  prophetic  office,  as  it  should  be ;  it  fits 
his  relations  as  a  prophet  to  the  captives  at  Babylon ;  fits  their  re- 
lutions  to  the  Omnipresent  and  then  specially  active  agencies  of 
God's  providence  over  nations ;  fits  the  style  of  illustrating  the  at- 
tributes of  God  which  prevailed  in  Chaldea,  and  also  that  which 
was  developed  to  some  extent  in  the  Jewish  temple ;  in  short,  this 
construction  fits  in  all  possible  points,  and  therefore  must  be  the 
true  one.  Out  of  a  dozen  trial  keys,  that  one  which  enters  the 
lock,  moves  without  obstruction  and  with  the  least  possible  friction 
through  its  wards,  and  throws  its  bolt  readily,  must  be  the  right 
one.    No  rational  man  ever  doubts  such  proof. 


22  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  II. 


CHAPTER  II. 

The  glorious  personage  brought  to  view  in  the  previous  chapter 
here  gives  the  prophet  his  commission  and  instructions. 

1.  And  he  said  unto  me,  Son  of  man,  stand  upon  thy 
feet,  and  I  will  speak  unto  thee. 

2.  And  the  spirit  entered  into  me  when  he  spake  unto 
me,  and  set  me  upon  my  feet,  that  I  heard  him  that  spake 
unto  me. 

The  overwhelming  impressions  of  solemnity  and  awe  under 
which  the  prophet  sank  to  the  ground,  and  also  the  kind  words 
and  imparted  spirit  which  set  him  upon  his  feet  again  and  restored 
calmness  to  his  soul,  are  noted  here  with  entire  simplicity.  Th?^ 
case  is  closely  analogous  to  that  of  Isaiah  as  in  his  sixth  chapter, 
and  that  of  Daniel,  "(chap.  10:  15-19,)  or  of  the  revelator  John 
(chap.  1  :  17).  It  can  not  surprise  us  that  John  should  say, 
"When  I  saw  him,  I  fell  at  his  feet  as  dead;"  or  that  Daniel 
should  testify,  "0  my  Lord,  by  the  vision  my  sorrows  are  turned 
upon  me,  and  I  have  retained  no  strength,  neither  is  any  breath 
left  in  me."  In  each  of  these  cases,  as  in  this  case  of  Ezekiel, 
the  Lord  kindly  renewed  their  strength  and  prepared  them  to  hear 
his  words. 

3.  And  he  said  unto  me,  Son  of  man,  I  send  thee  to 
the  children  of  Israel,  to  a  rebellious  nation  that  hath  re- 
belled against  me ;  they  and  their  fathers  have  transgressed 
against  me,  even  unto  this  very  day. 

4.  For  they  are  impudent  children  and  stiff-hearted.  I 
do  send  thee  unto  them;  and  thou  shalt  say  unto  them, 
Thus  saith  the  Lord  God. 

5.  And  they,  whether  they  will  hear,  or  whether  they 
will  forbear,  (for  they  are  a  rebellious  house,)  yet  shall  know 
that  there  hath  been  a  prophet  among  them. 

"Impudent,"  in  v.  4,  is  in  the  original  hard-faced.  The  pro])het 
is  to  assure  them  that  he  brings  them  a  message,  not  from  him- 
self, but  from  the  Lord  God.  "Will  forbear,"  means  will  refuse 
to  hear.  The  Lord  intimates  that  they  will  have  occasion  to  know 
that  he  has  certainly  sent  his  prophet  among  them.  His  judg- 
ments would  verify  the  prophet's  commission  and  leave  the  people 
no  room  to  doubt  this  appalling  truth.  This  introduction  shows 
that  the  exiles  in  Chaldea,  though  less  hardened  and  hopeless  than 
their  brethren  in  Judca,  were  yet  exceedingly  stul)born  and  per- 
verse. It  was  a  great  and  very  difficult  work  for  Ezekiel  to  ac- 
complish, to  impress  upon  them  the  fear  of  the  Lord  and  to  recall 
them  to  repentance  and  a  new  life. 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  II.  23 

6.  And  thou,  sou  of  man,  be  not  afraid  of  them,  neither 
be  afraid  of  their  words,  though  briers  and  thorns  he  with 
thee,  and  thou  dost  dwell  among  scorpions :  be  not  afraid 
of  their  words,  nor  be  dismayed  at  their  looks,  though  they 
he  a  rebellious  house. 

7.  And  thou  shalt  speak  my  words  unto  them,  whether 
they  will  hear,  or  whether  they  will  forbear ;  for  they  are 
most  rebellious. 

The  clause,  "Though  briers  and  thorns  be  with  thee,"  Gcsenius 
prefers  to  render,  "though  they  be  rebels  and  thorns  toward  thee." 
Maurer,  favoring  greater  congruity  between  the  two  words,  makes 
the  sense  "nettles  and  thorns."  The  general  sense  is  clear. 
Though  they  are  hostile,  malign,  severe,  and  even  savage  toward 
thee,  yet  be  thou  firm  and  fearless  before  them,  and  do  thy  duty. 
The  Lord  would  have  him  anticipate  stern  opposition  and  a  pain- 
fully trying  life,  and  gird  his  soul  to  meet  it.  So  evermore,  he 
who  will  live  godly  in  Christ  Jesus  and/o?*  Christ  Jesus  must  suf- 
fer more  or  less  persecution.  Let  him  expect  it  and  seek  grace  to 
meet  it  with  Christian  fortitude. 

8.  But  thou,  son  of  man,  hear  what  I  say  unto  thee; 
Be  not  thou  rebellious  like  that  rebellious  house :  open  thy 
mouth,  and  eat  that  I  give  thee. 

9.  And  when  I  looked,  behold,  a  hand  ivas  sent  unto 
me;  and,.lo,  a  roll  of  a  book  ims  therein; 

10.  And  he  spread  it  before  me :  and  it  ivas  written  within 
and  without :  and  there  ivas  written  therein  lamentations, 
and  mourning,  and  woe. 

This  eating  was  in  vision,  and  not  done  in  the  actual  world. 
As  a  thing  of  vision,  it  was  admirably  significant,  implying  that 
he  must  take  the  messages  of  God  to  his  heart  and  shrink  not  from 
any  service  for  God  which  they  might  involve.  This  roll,  like  the 
ancient  book,  was  a  long  strip  of  parchment,  fitted  to  roll  up, 
which  was  written  upon  both  sides  ("within  and  without").  Its 
contents,  the  matters  therein  written,  were  wholly  of  "lamentation, 
and  mourning,  and  woe" — all  mournful  exposures  of  guilt  and 
crime ;  messages  of  swift  judgment  and  of  awful  doom !  How  sad  to 
Ezekiel  must  have  been  this  preintimation  of  his  painfully  trying 
work!  Must  his  messages  to  his  own  people  testify  only  to  their 
guilt  and  shame ;  speak  but  rarely  of  promise  and  hope,  and  mainly 
of  judgment  without  mercy  and  of  woe  "too  wide  to  see  beyond!  " 
If  so,  may  he  have  grace  to  be  true  to  his  God  and  true  to  the 
souls  of  the  guilty  people ;  for  it  were  a  fearful  thing  for  mortal 
man  to  falter  in  duty  where  the  destiny  of  souls  is  at  stake ! 


24  EZEKIEL.— CHAr.  IIL 


CHAPTER  III. 

This  chapter  continues  and  completes  -what  pertains  properly  to 
Ezekiel's  introduction  to  his  prophetic  work.  The  Lord  explains 
and  defines  his  commission;  warns  him  of  the  opposition  he  has 
to  encounter,  and  girds  him  with  the  requisite  firmness  and  energy 
to  meet  it;  discloses  the  great  responsibilities,  of  his  work  as  bear- 
ing on  the  life  or  death  of  souls;  and  finally  signifies  to  him  that 
he  is  not  to  speak  on  his  own  motion,  but  only  as  the  Lord  shall 
give  him  a  message  from  himself  for  the  people.  • 

1.  Moreover  he  said  unto  me,  Son  of  man,  eat  that  thou 
findest ;  eat  this  roll,  and  go  speak  unto  the  house  of  Israel. 

2.  So  I  opened  my  mouth,  and  he  caused  me  to  eat  that 
roll. 

3.  And  he  said  unto  me.  Son  of  man,  cause  thy  belly  to 
eat,  and  fill  thy  bowels  with  this  roll  that  I  give  thee. 
Then  did  I  eat  it;  and  it  was  in  my  mouth  as  honey  for 
SAveetness. 

As  already  indicated  in  the  notes  on  chap.  2:  8,  the  eating  of 
this  roll,  done  only  in  vision,  signified  that  he  should  take  the 
messages  of  God  home  to  his  very  heart,  give  them  his  most  solemn 
attention,  make  himself  thoroughly  master  of  their  contents,  and 
hold  himself  at  God's  command  to  deliver  them  faithfully  as  di- 
rected.  ^That  they  were  in  his  mouth  as  honey  for  sweetness, 

implied  his  joy  in  accepting  his  prophetic  mission,  showing  that 
at  least  his  jirst  impressions  in  receiving  this  honor  were  those  of 
willing  and  cheerful  obedience,  and  the  consequent  joy  of  yielding 
to  the  will  of  God.  He  does  not  say  here  in  explicit  terms  as 
John  does  (Rev.  10:  9,  10),  "As  soon  as  I  had  eaten  it,  my  belly 
was  bitter;."  yet  v.  14  seems  to  imply  this  :  "I  went  in  bitterness, 
in  the  heat  of  my  spirit."  There  would  be  sore  trials  to  the  flesh, 
trials  to  his  human  sensibilities,  in  the  painful  service  of  bearing 
such  messages  to  a  people  so  dear  to  him  and  yet  so  guilty  and 
refractory  'toAvard  God.— — So  evermore  the  faithful  Christian  life 
on  earth  Avill  blend  the  joy  of  pleasing  God  with  the  pain  of  com- 
ing in  contact  with  sin  in  the  case  of  those  who  stand  in  relations 
near  and  dear  to  our  hearts. 

4.  And  he  said  unto  me.  Son  of  man,  go,  get  thee  unto 
the  house  of  Israel,  and  speak  Avith  my  words  unto  them. 

5.  For  thou  art  not  sent  to  a  people  of  a  strange  speech 
and  of  an  hard  language,  hut  to  the  house  of  Israel ; 

6.  Not  to  many  people  of  a  strange  speech  and  of  an 
hard  language,  Avhose  Avords  thou  canst  not  understand. 
Surely,  had  I  sent  thee  to  them,  they  Avould  have  heark- 
ened unto  thee. 

■  I 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  III.  25 

7.  But  the  house  of  Israel  will  not  hearken  unto  thee; 
for  they  will  not  hearken  unto  me:  for  all  the  house  of 
Israel  are  impudent  and  hard-hearted. 

"Strange,"  as  usual,  means  foreign.  The  Lord  says  to  his 
prophet,  "'I  send  thee  only  to  the  house  of  Israel;  not  to  a  foreign 
nation  of  an  unknown  language ;  not  to  many  tribes  or  people  of 
unknown  tongue.  If  I  had  sent  thee  to  such  a  people,  they  would 
have  hearkened  to  thee,  for  such   perverseness  and  obduracy  of 

heart  could  be  found  nowhere  among  the  heathen. Underneath 

this  statement  lies  a  great  law  of  human  sinning.  It  is  only  by 
the  long  abuse  of  great  light  and  of  rich  mercies  that  men  reach 
such  a  degree  of  moral  hardihood  and  such  depths  of  intense  de- 
pravity. It  is  appalling  to  think  of  the  influence  of  resisted  light, 
of  mercies  abused,  of  obligations  seen  yet  repelled  and  finally 
scorned !  With  what  fearful  rapidity,  especially  in  the  later 
stages,  do   such  sinners  become  seven-fold   more  the  children  of 

hell  than  before  ! Our  Savior  met  and  fully  recognized  this  law 

of  human  sinning  in  his  intercourse  with  the  Jews  of  his  time. 
See  Mat.  11:  20-24,  John  9:  39,  41,  and  15:  22,  24. 

8.  Behold,  I  have  made  thy  face  strong  against  their 
faces,  and  thy  forehead  strong  against  their  foreheads. 

9.  As  an  adamant  harder  than  flint  have  I  made  thy 
forehead :  fear  them  not,  neither  be  dismayed  at  their  looks, 
though  they  he  a  rebellious  house. 

These  are  bold  figures,  but  are  readily  understood.  The  Lord 
was  preparing  his  servant  to  confront  the  most  brazen-faced  sinners 
with  firm  unflinching  heart.  This  is  said  with  a  double  purpose — 
to  forewarn  and  to  forearm ;  to  signify  to  him  what  he  must  expect, 
and  to  gird  his  soul  to  meet  it. 

10.  Moreover  he  said  unto  me,  Son  of  man,  all  my  Tvords 
that  I  shall  speak  unto  thee  receive  in  thine  heart,  and  hear 
with  thine  ears. 

11.  And  go,  get  thee  to  them  of  the  captivity,  unto  the 
children  of  thy  people,  and  speak  unto  them,  and  tell  them, 
Thus  saith  the  Lord  God;  whether  they  will  hear,  or 
whether  they  will  forbear. 

V.  10  seems  to  express  without  a  figure  what  the  act  of  eating 

the   roll  implies. The  expressive  clause,   "whether  they  will 

hear  or  not  hear"  ("will  forbear"),  seems  to  be  not  merely  a  part 
of  the  Lord's  instructions  to  his  prophet,  but  a  part  also  of  his 
message  to  the  people.  The  prophet  must  give  them  to  understand 
that  God  lays  on  them  the  fearful  responsibility  of  deciding 
whether  they  would  hear  or  would  not.  They  must  determine 
this  question  for  themselves  and  bear  its  consequences. 
2 


26  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  III. 

12.  Then  the  spirit  took  me  up,  and  I  heard  behind  me 
a  voice  of  a  great  rushing,  saying,  Blessed  he  the  glory  of 
the  Lord  from  his  place. 

This  beini;  "taken  up  by  the  Spirit"  was  done  in  vision  only. 
It  seems  to  be  bearing  him  away  from  the  scenes  described  in  the 
first  chapter.  Hence  he  receives  his  last  impressions  from  these 
sounds  behind  him  as  he  is  leaving.  The  great  rush  corresponds 
to  the  account  in  chap.  1 :  24,  the  sound  of  the  wings  of  flying 
cherubim  and  of  their  voices,  here  praising  God  and  celebrating 
his  glories  as  revealed  from  the  place  of  these  manifestations. 

13.  I  heard  also  the  noise  of  the  wings  of  the  living 
creatures  that  touched  one  another,  and  the  noise  of  the 
wheels  over  against  them,  and  a  noise  of  a  great  rushing. 

In  the  phrase,  "the  wings  that  touched  one  another,"  the  He- 
brew has  the  beautiful  figure,  "  wings  that  kissed  each  that  of  her 
sister." 

14.  So  the  spirit  lifted  me  up,  and  took  me  away,  and  I 
went  in  bitterness,  in  the  heat  of  my  spirit;  but  the  hand 
of  the  Lord  was  strong  upon  me. 

This  scene  must  have  been  immensely  exciting  to  the  youthful 
prophet.  Probably  he  begins  to  appreciate  the  responsibihties 
and  trials  of  the  work  now  devolved  upon  him,  and  hence  feels 
pangs  of  bitterness  in  his  soul,  and  a  sense  as  of  intense  heat  in 
his  spirit.  But  the  hand  of  the  Lord  is  strong  upon  him,  and  he 
can  not  withstand  the  summons  to  painful  duty,  and  would  not  if 
he  could.  The  experiences  of  Jeremiah  were  much  the  same. 
See  notes  on  Jer.  20 :  7-9. 

15.  Then  I  came  to  them  of  the  captivity  at  Tel-abib, 
that  dwelt  by  the  river  of  Chebar,  and  I  sat  w^here  they 
sat,  and  remained  there  astonished  among  them  seven  days. 

Here  we  pass  from  scenes  of  prophetic  vision  to  scenes  not  visional 
but  purely  in  the  actual  world.  He  comes  to  the  exiles,  and  soon 
begins  to  speak  to  them  from  the  Lord  his  God.  As  they  were  in 
the  real  world  only,  and  not  at  all  in  prophetic  vision,  so  must  his 
words  and  acts,  relating  to  them,  be  understood  as  in  the  actual 

and  not  the  ideal  world. Tel-abib  (corn-hill)  was  the  residence 

of  a  large  body  of  these  exiles,  and  probably  of  the  prophet  him- 
self  The 'first  Hebrew  verb  of  the  phrase,  "I  sat  where  they 

sat,"  is  variously  read  and  translated  by  the  best  critics.  Our 
Euf^llsh  translation  follows  the  vowel  points  of  the  Hebrew  text 
and  not  the  consonants,  and  is  not  generally  approved  as  the  most 
reliable  reading.  Gcsenius  prefers  a  reading  of  the  original, 
which  means,  "I  saw  them  sitting  there,  and  I  sat  down  with 
them  astonished  seven  days."     Maurer,  preferring  another  root, 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  III.  27 

renders,  "I  turned  aside  where  they  were  sitting,  and  sat  doAvn  with 

them." As  the  verb  rendered  ^^remai7ied,"  is  precisely  the  usual 

Hebrew  verb  to  sit,  our  received  translation  repeats  itself;  "I  sat 
where  they  sat,  and  sat  astonished  ;  "  which  is  scarcely  admissible. 

But  no  important  sentiment  is  involved  in  these  diversities  of 

reading. "Seven  days,"  a  round  indefinite  number,  meaning  a 

considerable  time.  See  the  same  usage  under  somewhat  similar 
circumstances  in  the  case  of  Job's  three  friends  (Job  2:  13). 

16.  And  it  came  to  pass  at  the  end  of  seven  days,  that 
the  word  of  the  Lord  came  unto  me,  saying, 

17.  Son  of  man,  I  have  made  thee  a  watchman  unto  the 
house  of  Israel :  therefore  hear  the  word  at  my  mouth,  and 
give  them  warning  from  me. 

18.  When  I  say  unto  the  wicked,  Thou  shalt  surely  die ; 
and  thou  givest  him  not  warning,  nor  speakest  to  warn  the 
wicked  from  his  wicked  way,  to  save  his  life;  the  same 
wicked  maji  shall  die  in  his  iniquity,  but  his  blood  will  I 
require  at  thy  hand. 

19.  Yet  if  thou  warn  the  wicked,  and  he  turn  not  from 
his  wickedness,  nor  from  his  wicked  way,  he  shall  die  in 
his  iniquity ;  but  thou  hast  delivered  thy  soul. 

20.  Again,  When  a  righteous  man  doth  turn  from  his 
righteousness,  and  commit  iniquity,  and  I  lay  a  stumbling- 
block  before  him,  he  shall  die  :  because  thou  hast  not  given 
him  warning,  he  shall  die  in  his  sin,  and  his  righteousness 
which  he  hath  done  shall  not  be  remembered ;  but  his  blood 
will  I  require  at  thy  hand. 

21.  Nevertheless  if  thou  warn  the  righteous  man,  that 
the  righteous  sin  not,  and  he  doth  not  sin,  he  shall  surely 
live,  because  he  is  warned;  also  thou  hast  delivered  thy 
soul. 

These  words  were  specially  addressed  by  the  T^ord  to  his  prophet. 
They  may  or  may  not  have  been  announced  by  the  prophet  to  the 
people.  Essentially  the  same  ideas  are  drawn  out  somewhat  more 
fully  in  chap.  33.  There,  they  are  rehearsed  to  the  people.  Their 
intensely  solemn  import  is  plain.  The  watchman  or  sentinel 
stands  guard  in  war  to  give  notice  of  impending  danger.  If  he 
does  his  duty  faithfully,  and  the  people  disregard  his  warnings,  his 
hands  are  clear  of  their  blood :  they  perish  in  their  own  folly.  If 
he  neglects  his  duty  and  the  people  perish  unwarned,  they  perish 

indeed,  but  their  blood  is  required  at  his  hand. So  of  the  prophet. 

So  of  all  Christian  ministers,  and  indeed  of  all  Christians  in  every 
sphere  in  their  relations  to  the  people  among  whom  the  Lord  in  his 
providence  may  place  them.  They  must  admonish  those  who  are 
in  their  sins  of  their  danger,  as  they  would  free  themselves  from 


28  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  III. 

blood-i^uiltincss  in  the  death  of  unwarned  souls.  The  case  of  a 
riii;hteous  man  apostatizing  from  a  pious  life  falls  under  the  same 
law.  Every  good  and  true  servant  of  God  is  bound  to  admonish 
him  of  his  peril,  else  his  blood  may  be  required  of  those  who  have 

neglected  to  give  him  such  warning. The  "stumbling-block" 

spoken  of  here  (v.  20)  is  not  a  temptation  to  sin,  but  a  means  of 
destruction,  an  agency  employed  of  God  to  destroy  the  sinner. 

22.  And  the  hand  of  the  Lord  was  there  upon  me ;  and 
he  said  unto  rae,  Arise,  go  forth  into  the  plain,  and  I  will 
there  talk  with  thee. 

23.  Then  I  arose,  and  -went  forth  into  the  plain:  and, 
behold,  the  glory  of  the  Lord  stood  there,  as  the  glory 
which  I  saw  by  the  river  of  Chebar:  and  I  fell  on  my 
face. 

This  "plain"  or  valley  stands  contrasted  with  the  hill  (Tell 
Abib)  where  the  people  resided.  The  spirit  of  the  call  is,  Go 
down  to  a  retired  place;  I  have  another  personal  charge  to  give 

thee  in  private. The  prophet  obeyed;  and  there  he  saw  again 

the  same  manifestation  of  the  glory  of  the  Lord  which  he  had  seen 
by  the  river  Chebar.     Here  also,  as  there,  he  falls  prostrate  on  his 

face. This  going  to  the  valley  seems  to  have  been  done  in  the 

external  world.  What  followed  there  was  said  and  shown  to  him 
in  prophetic  vision. 

24.  Then  the  spirit'  entered  into  me,  and  set  me  upon  my 
feet,  and  spake  with  me,  and  said  unto  me,  Go,  shut  thy- 
self within  thy  house. 

25.  But  thou,  O  son  of  man,  behold,  they  shall  put 
bands  upon  thee,  and  shall  bind  thee  with  them,  and  thou 
slialt  not  go  out  among  them: 

26.  And  I  will  make  thy  tongue  cleave  to  the  roof  of 
thy  mouth,  that  thou  shalt  be  dumb,  and  shalt  not  be  to 
them  a  reprover:  for  they  are  a  rebellious  house. 

27.  But  when  I  speak  with  thee,  I  will  open  thy  mouth, 
and  thou  shalt  say  unto  them.  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God; 
He  that  heareth,  let  him  hear :  and  he  that  forbeareth,  let 
him  forbear:  for  they  are  a  rebellious  house. 

I  take  the  general  import  of  these  instructions  to  be  this:  Thy 
mission,  Ezekiel,  is  simply  and  only  to  speak  the  words  of  God ; 
not  thine  own  words.  Shut  up  thyself,  therefore,  in  thine  own 
house,  and  remain  there  till  the  Spirit  of  God  shall  lead  thee  forth. 
The  people  will  withstand  thee ;  but  let  not  their  opposition  insti- 
gate thee  to  any  rash  Avords  of  thine  own.  Wait  in  silence  till  the 
Lord  shall  give  thee  his  own  message  to  deliver  to  them.  How- 
ever much  the  greatness  or  the  guilt  of  their  sins  may  fire  thy 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  IV.  29 

soul  with  indignation,  take  care  to  say  only  what  the  Lord  shall 
give  thee  to  say.  Restrict  thyself  absolutely  to  the  messages  that 
are  given  thee  of  the  Lord  thy  God.  When  1  open  thy  mouth,  then 
speak  and  fear  nothing.     Till  then  be  silent. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


Tub  object  of  the  symbolic  transactions  recorded  in  this  chap- 
ter was  to  impress  the  exiles  with  the  facts  that  Jerusalem  was 
soon  to  be  besieged;  that  this  siege  would  be  exceedingly  severe, 
involving  great  famine  and  distress ;  and  that  it  was  to  come  upon 

the  city  and  the  people  for  their  great  sins. The  date  of  the 

prophecies  in  chaps.  4-7,  can  not  be  much  later  than  the  fifth  year 
of  Jehoiachin's  captivity,  since  no  new  date  appears  between 
chaps.  1 :  2,  and  8 :  1.  The  latter  was  the  sixth  year  and  sixth  month. 
Zedekiah's  reign  began  very  soon  after  the  captivity  of  Jehoiachin. 
The  siege  of  Jerusalem  commenced  in  the  tenth  month  of  his  ninth 
year.     (Jer.  52:  4.)     Hence  this  prophecy  preceded  the  beginning 

of  the  siege  by  some  four  or  four  and  a  half  years  only. The 

two  significant  symbolic  transactions  recorded  in  this  chapter  are 
closely  related  to  each  other — are  indeed  parts  of  the  same  whole ; 
viz.  (1.)  The  delineation  of  the  city  of  Jerusalem  on  a  tile,  and 
formally  laying  siege  to  it:  and,  (2.)  The  prophet's  lying  on  his 
left  side  three  hundred  and  ninety  days,  and  on  his  right,  forty, 
and  taking  his  bread  and  water  by  measure  during  those  periods — 
to  indicate  both  the  straitness  of  the  siege  and  its  moral  causes  in 
the  nation's  great  sins. . 

1.  Thou  also,  son  of  man,  take  thee  a  tile,  and  lay  it  be- 
fore thee,  and  portray  upon  it  the  city,  even  Jerusalem : 

2.  And  lay  siege  against  it,  and  build  a  fort  against  it, 
and  cast  a  mount  against  it;  set  the  camp  also  against  it, 
and  set  battering  rams  against  it  round  about. 

3.  Moreover  take  thou  unto  thee  an  iron  pan,  and  set  it 
for  a  wall  of  iron  between  thee  and  the  city :  and  set  thy 
face  against  it,  and  it  shall  be  besieged,  and  thou  shalt  lay 
siege  against  it.     This  shall  be  a  sign  to  the  house  of  Israel. 

The  ruins  of  Nineveh  and  of  Babylon  have  furnished  the  world 
during  the  present  century  large  quantities  of  "^i7<?,"  sun-baked  or 
kiln-burnt  brick,  covered  with  inscriptions.  Hence  this  symbol  was 
perfectly  familiar  to  Ezekiel  and  to  his  fellow-exiles.  To  portray 
a  city  on  a  tile  and  let  it  represent  Jerusalem  was  altogether  in 
harmony  with  the  usages  of  the  Chaldean  people. This  sym- 
bolic transaction  was  throughout  in  keeping  with  the  modes  of 
ancient  warflire.      Towers  were  built,  mounds  raised,  often  to  the 


30  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  IV. 

full  height  of  the  walls  of  the  besieged  city;  a  camp  was  fitted  up; 
battering  rams  provided.  Then,  to  protect  the  besiegors,  strong 
ramparts  were  raised  between  them  and  the  city,  indicated  in  this 
transaction  by  the  "iron  pan."  All  this  was  for  a  "5?^h"  to  the 
house  of  Israel,  a  thoroughly  symbolic  process,  to  signify  the  siege 

of  their  beloved  city. There  can  be  no  reasonable  doubt  that 

this  was  really  done  as  here  stated,  and  not  merely  seen  in  vision 
without  being  done  in  fact.  For  the  record  has  none  of  the  usual 
intimations  of  a  vision,  e.  g.,  "I  looked;"  "I  saw;"  "the  Lord 
showed  me;"  "I  was  in  the  spirit  and  saw,"  etc.,  etc.  On  the 
contrary,  the  prophet  is  simply  commanded  to  do  precisely  this 
thing,  and  the  Lord  said  it  should  be  a  "^e^n,"  a  visible,  significant 
symbol,  to  the  people. 

4.  Lie  thou  also  upon  thy  left  side,  and  lay  the  iniquity 
of  the  house  of  Israel  upon  it :  according  to  the  number  of 
the  days  that  thou  shalt  lie  upon  it  thou  shalt  bear  their 
iniquity. 

5.  For  I  have  laid  upon  thee  the  years  of  their  iniquity, 
according  to  the  number  of  the  days,  three  hundred  and 
ninety  days  :  so  shalt  thou  bear  the  iniquity  of  the  house 
of  Israel. 

6.  And  when  thou  hast  accomplished  them,  lie  again  on 
thy  right  side,  and  thou  shalt  bear  the  iniquity  of  the  house 
of  Judah  forty  days :  I  have  appointed  thee  each  day  for  a 
year. 

This  also  we  must  interpret  as  an  actual  transaction,  symbolic 
of  course  in  its  purpose,  but  not  an  unreal  vision.  It  proceeds  in 
the  same  strain  as  the  previous  symbol,  a  simple  command  to  do. 
Manifestly  this  lying  on  either  side,  as  well  as  the  preparation 
and  eating  of  his  food,  were  to  be  done  "  in  the  sight  of  the  people  " 
(see  V.  12).  Now,  since  the  people  are  in  the  external  world  only, 
and  not  in  prophetic  vision,  this  must  have  been  an  actual  pro- 
ceeding, and  not  a  thing  of  mere  vision. It  can  not  be  supposed 

that  this  lying  on  one  side  was  absolutely  continuous  and  un- 
broken by  any  rising  up  during  the  entire  thirteen  months  in  the 
former  case  and  one  and  one-third  months  in  the  latter.  For, 
according  to  the  record,  the  prophet  prepared  his  own  food  and 
ate  it  from  time  to  time.  The  necessities  of  his  physical  being 
were  therefore  to  be  provided  for  as  an  exception  to  the  general 
law  of  his  fixed  position. 

It  will  meet  all  the  conditions  of  the  case  if  we  suppose  that 
his  lying  on  his  side  was  so  public  as  to  be  well  known,  and  so 
continuous  as  to  fill  out  the  greater  part  of  the  time  and  as  to  in- 
volve great  hardship  and  suffering.  So  much  we  must  admit,  else 
it  would  not  forcibly  symbolize  his  bearing  of  the  iniquities  of 
Israel  and  Judah,  and  the  sore  straitness  of  the  besieged  city  and 
its  people.     The  restraint  which  the  Lord  put  upon  him  (v.  8)  pro 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  IV.  31 

vented  his  turning  from  side  to  side  to  relieve  himself,  but  did  not 

prevent  his  preparing   and   eating  his  necessary  food. These 

periods  of  time  (three  hundred  and  ninety  days,  and  forty)  were 
not  capricious.  They  were  sufficiently  long  to  involve  much  dis- 
comfort and  even  suffering.  There  was  probably  some  special  sig- 
nificance in  both  periods.  Critics  have  generally  agreed  that  the 
long  period  looks  to  the  interval  from  the  revolt  under  Jeroboam  to 
the  destruction  of  the  city,  which  the  common  chronology  makes 
three  hundred  and  eighty-eight  years — in  round  numbers  three 
hundred  and  ninety.  During  this  period  the  two  nations  had 
been  relapsing  into  idolatry — a  fact  which  would  itself  give  ample 
significance  to  the  symbol  of  lying  three  hundred  and  ninety  days 

on  his  left  side  to  bear  the  iniquities  of  Israel. The  special 

significance  of  the  number  forty  for  the  years  of  Judah  is  less  ob- 
vious. Rosenmueller  and  Maurer  agree  in  commencing  it  with 
the  twelfth  year  of  Josiah  when  his  great  reform  was  inaugurated, 
and  in  closing  it  with  the  destruction  of  the  city — this  period  be- 
ginning hopefully  but  closing  wofully  with  horrible  apostasy — the 
bitter  disappointment  of  fondly  cherished  hopes  of  national  re- 
form, and  the  aggravated  guilt  of  broken  covenants  and  of  light 
rejected.  There  was  manifestly  good  reason  why  the  special 
attention  of  the  Jews  should  be  called  to  the  more  aggravated 
course  of  their  nation  within  these  last  forty  years. This  ex- 
planation is  on  the  whole  to  be  preferred  to  any  other  that  has 
been  before  me.  The  forty  years'  wandering  in  the  wilderness  is 
too  remote  in  time,  and  not  sufficiently  pertinent  to  the  present 

case. 1  doubt  if  any  other  special  significance  pertains  to  the 

distinction  between  Israel  and  Judah  except  what  is  readily  seen 
in  the  historic  circumstances  as  above  indicated.  The  three  hun- 
dred and  ninety  years  of  Israel  began  with  the  revolt  of  Jeroboam. 
In  that  revolt,  Israel  as  distinct  from  Judah  was  prominent. 
There,  in  her  revolt,  and  in  the  idolatrous  decree  of  the  golden 
calves,  the  terrible  relapse  of  the  whole  nation  into  idolatry  began. 

On  the  other  hand  the  forty  years'  period,  as  above  explained, 

related  specially  to  Judah,  marking  the  period  of  her  last  guilty 
relapse  from  God,  and  suggesting  the  great  light  she  had  sinned 
against.  That  God's  special  appointment  should  make  each  day's 
lying  by  the  prophet  on  his  side,  symbolic  of  one  year,  need  oc- 
casion no  surprise  or  difficulty.  Once  indicated,  the  significance 
was  clear  and  unmistakable.  But,  that  interpreters  of  prophecy 
should  find  here  authority  for  the  theory  that  in  all  prophetic 
notations  of  time,  "day"  means  "year,"  and  "year"  means  three 
hundred  and  sixty  years,  is  in  the  last  degree  capricious  and  un- 
founded. How  can  those  who  embrace  this  theory  fail  to  see  that 
throughout  this  passage  the  words  "day"  and  "year"  are  used 
evermore  in  their  ordinary  and  common  sense,  and  not  at  all  with 
the  special  extension  or  rather  multiplication  which  they  claim 
for  them  ?  Did  the  prophet  lie  on  his  left  side  three  hundred  and 
ninety  years,  and  on  his  right  side  forty  years  ?  That  would  be 
simply  monstrous,  yet  not  more  so  than  the  theory  that  the  word 


32  EZEEIEL.— CHAP.  IV. 

"day"  in  prophecy  means  "year," In  the  present  case  the  only 

reason  why  each  day's  confined  posture  on  the  side  represents  a 
year  lies  in  the  symbol  (not  in  the  word  day),  and  is  there  by 
special  divine  arrangement.  It  is  not  at  all  in  the  sense  of  the 
words  "day"  and  "year."  The  Lord  told  the  prophet  and  also 
the  people  that  his  lyin<j;  a  certain  number  of  days  -^n  either  side 
should  remind  the  people  of  so  many  years  of  their  national  sin. 

This  is  all. That  Israel  was  indicated  by  the  prophet's  left  side 

may  look  to  the  fact  that  geographically,  that  kingdom  lay  on 
their  left,  since  in  locating  the  points  of  compass,  the  Orientals 
stood  with  their  faces  to  the  east.  Note  also  chap.  16:  46,  "Thine 
elder  sister  is  Samaria,  she  and  her  daughters  that  dwell  at  thy 
left  hand." 

7.  Therefore  tliou  shalt  set  thy  face  toward  the  siege  of 
Jerusalem,  and  thine  arm  shall  he  uncovered,  and  tliou 
siialt  prophesy  against  it. 

8.  And  behold,  I  will  lay  bands  upon  thee,  and  thou 
shalt  not  turn  thee  from  one  side  to  another,  till  thou  hast 
ended  the  days  of  thy  siege. 

This  is  a  remarkable  combination  of  symbols — a  man  lying 
prostrate  on  one  side  to  signify  that  he  bears  the  iniquity  of  the 
house  of  Israel ;  yet  setting  his  face  toward  his  tile,  which  repre- 
sents Jerusalem,  to  indicate  that  he  is  (in  symbol)  besieging  the 
city,  and  having  his  arm  bare  and  his  loins  girded  to  show  that 
the  assailing  party  is  alert  and  unimpeded  in  his  assault.  Making 
bare  the  arm  by  girding  the  loins  is  one  of  the  most  common, 
well  defined,  and  expressive  symbols  of  oriental  life.  See  Isa.  52 : 
10. "Thou  shalt  prophesy  against,"  may  include  in  its  mean- 
ing these  significant  symbols  which  would  themselves  speak  with 
no    doubtful   voice.      But   very  probably  he    added    explanatory 

words. The   "bands  that  God  laid  upon  him,"  seem  to  have 

restrained  him  from  turning  from  side  to  side,  to  relieve  himself, 
but  manifestly  did  not  prevent  his  rising  to  prepare  and  take  his 
food. 

9.  Take  thou  also  unto  thee  wheat,  and  barley,  and  beans, 
and  lentiles,  and  millet,  and  fitches,  and  put  them  in  one 
vessel,  and  make  thee  bread  thereof,  according  to  the  num- 
ber of  the  days  that  thou  shalt  lie  upon  thy  side;  three 
hundred  and  ninety  days  shalt  thou  eat  thereof. 

10.  And  thy  meat  which  thou  shalt  eat  shall  he  by 
weight,  twenty  shekels  a  day :  from  time  to  time  shalt  thou 
eat  it. 

11.  Thou  shalt  drink  also  water  by  measure,  the  sixth 
part  of  a  hin :  from  time  to  time  shalt  thou  drink. 

Directions  as  to  his  food,  and  the  quantity  of  bread  and  water 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  IV  33 

allowed  him. Tlie  reader  will  notice  that  our  translators  (un- 
like ourselves)  make  no  broad  distinction  between  "bread"  and 
"meat."  What  is  "bread"  in  v.  9  is  "meat"  in  v.  10.  The 
Hebrew  word  in  v.  10  comprehends  every  thing  eaten.  Our  trans- 
lators seem  to  have  used  the  word  "meat"  in  this  comprehensive 

sense. A  shekel  is   equal   to    half  an  ounce.      Consequently 

twenty  shekels  are  ten  ounces — a  light  ration  of  mere  vegetables, 
and  designed  to  represent  the  extreme  scarcity  in  the  besieged 
city. A  hin,  according  to  Gesenius,  is  five  English  quarts.  One- 
sixth  part  of  it  consequently  is  five-sixths  of  a  quart. 

12.  And  thou  slialt  eat  it  as  barley  cakes,  and  thou  slialt 
bake  it  with  dung  that  cometli  out  of  man,  in  their  sight. 

13.  And  the  Lord  said.  Even  thus  shall  the  children  of 
Israel  eat  their  defiled  bread  among  the  Gentiles,  whither 
I  will  drive  them. 

14.  Then  said  I,  Ah  Lord  God !  behold,  my  soul  hath 
not  been  polluted :  for  from  my  youth  up  even  till  now 
have  I  not  eaten  of  that  which  dieth  of  itself,  or  is  torn  in 
pieces ;  neither  came  there  abominable  flesh  into  my  mouth. 

15.  Then  he  said  unto  me,  Lo,  I  have  given  thee  cow's 
dung  for  man's  dung,  and  thou  shalt  prepare  thy  bread 
therewith. 

Under  the  gf^neral  scarcity  of  other  fuel  in  the  unwooded 
regions  of  the  East,  the  offal  of  domestic  animals  is  much  used 
for  fuel,  even  in  cooking.  Ezekiel  manifestly  regarded  the  use  of 
human  offal  for  this  purpose  as  not  only  offensive  but  ceremonially 
polluting.  He  therefore  pleads  for  some  relief  from  this  injunc- 
tion.    It  was  kindly  granted  him. The  Lord  wished  to  show 

by  this  symbol  that  the  Jews  were  doomed  to  eat  defiled  bread  in 
their  captivity  among  the  heathen. 

16.  Moreover  he  said  unto  me.  Son  of  man,  behold,  I  will 
break  the  staflf  of  bread  in  Jerusalem :  and  they  shall  eat 
bread  by  weight,  and  with  care  ;  and  they  shall  drink  water 
by  measure,  and  with  astonishment : 

17.  That  they  may  want  bread  and  water,  and  be  aston- 
ished one  with  another,  and  consume  away  for  their  iniquity. 

The  phrase,  "to  eat  bread  with  care,"  should  take  the  stronger 
sense  of  extreme   anxiety,   dreadful   apprehension.     Famine  and 

terror  should  consume  them — a  fearful  doom! Before  we  pass 

from  this  chapter  let  us  note  the  fact  that  the  scenes  it  describes 
filled  out  (at  365  days  per  year)  one  year,  two  months  and  a  frac- 
tion of  five  days  over,  while  the  interval  between  the  dates  in 
chap.  1:  1,  2,  and  in  chap.  8:  1,  is  one  year  and  two  months. 
As  the  numbers  in  chap.  4  are  obviously  round  numbers,  it  can 
Bcarcely  be  doubted  that  the  two  periods  are  identically  the  same. 


34  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  V. 

That  is,  the  symbolic  transaction,  representing  the  sie2;e  of  Jeru- 
salem and  the  bearing  of  the  iniquities  of  Israel  and  Judah,  filled 
up  the  first  stage  of  his  prophetic  life — the  entire  interval  between 
his  call  Avith  the  vision  accompanying  it,  and  the  second  great 
vision  recorded,  chaps.  8-11.  This  symbolical  scene,  therefore, 
was  properly  his  introduction  before  the  people  in  his  new  charac- 
ter as  a  prophet.  As  such,  it  Avas  adapted  to  make  strong  impres- 
sions on  their  minds.  They  could  not  but  observe  the  strangeness 
of  the  scene  and  say,  "Verily,  here  is  a  prophet  of  the  Lord  among 
us,  and  it  behooves  us  to  mark  his  words  and  his  no  less  signifi- 
cant deeds." Let  us  also  note  that  these  symbolic  transactions 

recorded  in  this  chap.  4  arc  the  text  for  the  sermon  Avhich  fills 
chapters  5,  6,  and  7.  These  latter  chapters  for  the  most  part  drop 
all  symbol  and  announce  in  plain  but  terrible  words,  the  judg- 
ments of  siege,  conquest  and  destruction,  then  Avithin  four  or  five 
years  of  being  realized  upon  the  long  guilty  and  doomed  city  of 
the  Jews.  These  lessons  Avere  full  of  terrible  significance  to  their 
captive  brethren  noAV  in  Chaldea,  as  we  shall  see. 


CHAPTER  V. 

This  chapter  presents  a  new  symbol,  but  continues  the  same 
course  of  thought.  Manifestly,  the  destiny  of  the  doomed  city  and 
people  of  Jerusalem  is  the  theme  illustrated  here  by  the  prophet's 
cutting  off  the  hairs  of  his  head  and  of  his  beard,  dividing  the 
mass  into  three  equal  parts,  and  then  by  a  triple  process  destroy- 
ing them.  The  body  of  the  chapter  explains  this  symbolic  trans- 
action and  unfolds  in  various  forms  this  revealed  destiny  of  ruin 
to  the  people  and  the  city. 

1.  And  thou,  son  of  man,  take  tliee  a  sharp  knife,  take 
thee  a  barber's  razor,  and  cause  it  to  pass  upon  thy  head 
and  upon  thy  beard :  then  take  thee  balances  to  weigh,  and 
divide  the  hair. 

2.  Thou  shalt  burn  with  fire- a  third  part  in  the  midst 
of  the  city,  Avhen  the  days  of  the  siege  are  fulfilled ;  and 
thou  shalt  take  a  third  part,  and  smite  about  it  Avith  a 
knife :  and  a  third  part  thou  shalt  scatter  in  the  Avind ;  and 
I  will  draAV  out  a  SAVord  after  them. 

Cutting  off  the  hair  of  the  head,  and  especially  of  the  beard, 
indicated  sometimes  the  highest  indignity,  but  usually  extreme 
calamity.  The  feeling  of  the  Orientals  toAvard  their  beard  and 
hair  involved  strong  affection,  sometimes  rising  to  real  A'cneration. 
Hence  it  became  a  most  expressive  token  of  bitter  grief  to  tear 
out  the  hair,  and  a  symbol  of  mourning  over  great  calamity  to  cut 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  V.  35 

it  off.  Comp.  2  Sam.  10:  4,  5,  and  Jer.  41 :  5,  and  48:  37. -r— This 
cutting  of  the  prophet's  hair  was  a  real  transaction,  having  a  sym- 
bolic impQrt  to  the  people.  The  balances  were  to  divide  the  hair 
into  three  equal  parts,  each  of  which  was  to  have  its  own  peculiar 
mode  of  destruction. "The  days  of  the  siege"  form  a  connect- 
ing link  between  this  chapter  and  the  preceding  one. V.  12  is 

God's  own  interpretation  of  this  symbol.  One  third  part  of  the 
people  are  to  die  with  pestilence  and  famine  in  the  city ;  another 
third  by  the  sword  in  the  siege  and  capture ;  and  the  remain- 
ing third  were  to  be  scattered  to  every  wind  of  heaven,  and  the 
sword  of  the  Lord  would  pursue  even  these  to  their  destruction. 

3.  Thou  shalt  also  take  thereof  a  few  in  number,  and 
bind  them  in  thy  skirts. 

4.  Then  take  of  them  again,  and  cast  them  into  the 
midst  of  the  fire,  and  burn  them  in  the  fire:  for  thereof 
shall  a  fire  come  fi3rth  into  all  the  house  of  Israel. 

A  small  remnant  wore  to  be  gathered  carefully  and  bound  up  in 
his  skirts,  yet  even  of  them  some  would  be  cast  into  the  fire,  and 
a  fire  go  forth  from  them  into  all  the  house  of  Israel.  If  this  has 
special  reference  to  any  particular  portion  of  the  Jewish  people, 
it  would  naturally  be  to  that  small  remnant  who  remained  in  the 
land,  but  were  either  cut  off  with  Gedaliah,  or  went  down  into 
Egypt  to  perish  there.  The  general  sense  is,  manifestly,  that  only 
tlie  smallest  part  of  a  small  remnant  should  survive  these  sweep- 
ing calamities. A  better  remnant  were  saved  out  of  the  exiles 

in  Chaldea — this  revelation  of  exterminating  judgments  on  those 
who  remained  in  Judah  being  one  of  the  divinely  ordained  means 
for  their  moral  culture  and  restoration  to  piety  and  to  their  own 
land. 

5.  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God ;  This  is  Jerusalem :  I  have 
set  it  in  the  midst  of  the  nations  and  countries  that  ar6 
round  about  her. 

Here  the  interpretation  of  the  symbols  begins.  This  represents 
the  doom  of  Jerusalem — -the  long-loved  and  honored  city  of  the 
exiles  in  Chaldea,  to  whom  Ezekiel  is  prophesying.  He  is  setting 
before  them  the  judgments  about  to  fall  on  her — long  and  richly 

due  for  her  great  sins. That  she  is  "in  the  midst  of  the  nations 

and  countries  about  her,"  looks  t©  her  central  position  among  the 
nations  of  Western  Asia  and  Northeastern  Africa,  and  to  her 
prominence  before  all  those  nations  as  a  people  governed  and 
judged  by  the  only  living  God. 

6.  And  she  hath  changed  my  judgments  into  wickedness 
more  than  the  nations,  and  my  statutes  more  than  the 
countries  that  are  round  about  her :  for  they  have  refused 


36  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  V. 

my  judgments  and  my  statutes,  they  have  not  walked  in 
them. 

The  Heb.  verb  rendered  "chan;^ed,"  which  our  translators  de- 
rived from  moor,  modern  critics  with  good  reason  take  from  marah, 
and  so  render  it,  "And  she  hath  impiously  resisted  my  judg- 
ments"—  i.  c.jWith  perverse  and  bitter  spirit  hath  discarded  them, 
more  than  the  heathen  nations.  This  comparison  of  the  Jews  with 
the  heathen  about  them  refers  to  the  common  moralities  of  the 
laAvs  of  nature.  The  Jews  had  outraged  these  laws  more  than  the 
heathen  had  done. 

7.  Therefore  thus  saith  the  Lord  God;  Because  ye  mul- 
tiplied more  than  the  nations  that  are  round  about  you,  and 
have  not  walked  in  my  statutes,  neither  have  kept  my  judg- 
ments, neither  have  done  according  to  the  judgments  of  the 
nations  that  are  round  about  you ; 

The  phrase,  "multiplied  more  than  the  nations"  is  not  explicit, 
since  it  does  not  necessarily  involve  moral  wroag.  The  original 
gives  it  a  better  turn,  and  makes  it  clear.  ''Because  ye  have 
been  tumultuous,  outbreaking  in  sin,  more  than  those  contiguous 
nations."  Compare  the  same  word  in  Ps.  2:  1,  "Why  do  the 
heathen  rage,''  etc.     She  had  been  violent,  reckless,  desperate. 

8.  Therefore  thus  saith  the  Lord  God;  Behold,  I,  even 
I,  am  against  thee,  and  will  execute  judgments  in  the  midst 
of  thee  in  the  sight  of  the  nations. 

9.  And  I  will  do  in  thee  that  which  I  have  not  done,  and 
whereunto  I  will  not  do  any  more  the  like,  because  of  all 
thine  abominations. 

10.  Therefore  the  fathers  shall  eat  the  sons  in  the  midst 
of  thee,  and  the  sons  shall  eat  their  fathers ;  and  I  will  ex- 
ecute judgments  in  thee,  and  the  whole  remnant  of  thee 
will  I  scatter  into  all  the  winds. 

The  Lord  would  show  most  clearly  that  he  was  against  that 
guilty  city.  The  language  puts  this  idea  in  the  most  emphatic 
form.  Stress  is  laid  also  on  the  thought  that  judgment  on  Jeru- 
salem would  be  inflicted  in  the  sight  of  all  the  nations.  It  had  a 
lesson  for  them.     Moreover  this  prediction  was  adapted  to  humble 

the  national  pride  of  the  Jews,  and  might  thus  be  salutary. 

That  the  fathers  should  eat  the  sons,  and  the  sons  the  fathers, 
probably  refers  here,  not  to  the  eating  of  human  flesh  in  the  strait- 
ness  of  the  siege,  but  to  civil  war — terrible  feuds  which  should 
array  fathers  against  son*  and  sous  against  fathers. 

11.  Wherefore,  as  I  live,  saith  the  Lord  God ;  Surely, 
because  thou  hast  defiled  my  sanctuary  with  all  thy  detest' 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  V.  37 

able  things,  and  with  all  thine  abominations,  therefore  will 
I  also  diminish  thee;  neither  shall  mine  eye  sj^are,  neither 
will  I  have  any  pity. 

In  this  verse  the  word  "diminish"  gives  a  sense  too  feeble  for 
the  demands  of  the  case.  The  original  verb  means  to  withhold  or 
withdraw;  to  which  we  must  subjoin  as  the  object  either  the  word 
eye^  ox  the  word  myself.  In  the  former  case  the  word  "eye"  is 
put  forward  from  the  clause  that  immediately  follows,  giving  the 
sense,  I  will  not  look  upon  or  heed  thy  bitterest  woes.  In  the  lat- 
ter case  with  substantially  the  same  sense,  I  will  withhold  myself 
from  compassion.  I  will  suppress  all  the  impulses  of  pity  and  let 
judgment  take  its  course  without  mercy.  In  either  case  it  is  a 
threat  of  awful  import,  yet  had  its  just  occasion  in  the  outrageous 
sin  of  defiling  his  sanctuary  with  idol  gods  and  with  pollutions  too 
horrid  to  name. 

12.  A  third  part  of  thee  shall  die  with  the  pestilence, 
and  with  famine  shall  they  be  consnmed  in  the  midst  of 
thee :  and  a  third  part  shall  fall  by  the  sword  round  about 
thee ;  and  I  will  scatter  a  third  part  into  all  the  winds,  and 
I  will  draw  out  a  sword  after  them. 

As  already  said,  this  verse  is  the  Lord's  interpretation  of  the 
symbol  with  which  the  chapter  opens. 

13.  Thus  shall,  mine  anger  be  accomplished,  and  I  will 
cause  my  fury  to  rest  upon  them,  and  I  will  be  comforted: 
and  they  shall  know  that  I  the  Lord  have  spoken  it  in  my 
zeal,  when  I  have  accomplished  my  fury  in  them. 

14.  Moreover  I  will  make  thee  w^aste,  arui  a  reproach 
among  the  nations  that  a7'e  round  about  thee,  in  the  sight 
of  all  that  pass  by. 

15.  So  it  shall  be  a  reproach  and  a  taunt,  an  instruction 
and  an  astonishment  unto  the  nations  that  are  round  about 
thee,  when  I  shall  execute  judgments  in  thee  in  anger  and 
in  fury  and  in  furious  rebukes.     I  the  Lord  have  spoken  it. 

16.  When  I  shall  send  upon  them  the  evil  arrows  of  fam- 
ine, which  shall  be  for  tJieii^  destruction,  and  which  I  will 
send  to  destroy  you:  and  I  will  increase  the  famine  upon 
you,  and  will  break  your  staff  of  bread : 

17.  So  will  I  send  upon  you  famine  and  evil  beasts,  and 
they  shall  bereave  thee ;  and  pestilence  and  blood  shall  pass 
through  thee ;  and  I  will  bring  the  sword  upon  thee.  I  the 
Lord  have  spoken  it. 

These  verses  expand  and  reiterate  the  thought  that  these  judg- 
ments are  the  stern  demand  of  divine  justice  and  the  outburst  of 


38  '  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  VI. 

irrepressible  indignation,  designed  not  only  as  a  fearful  retribution 
upon  the  guilty  Jews,  but  as  a  lesson  of  solemn  instruction  and 

admonition  to  all  surrounding  nations. This  assumes  that  the 

principles  on  which  God  dealt  with  the  Jewish  nation  were  not 
unique  and  special,  but  general,  and  applicable,  therefore,  to  all 
nations  of  every  age  and  clime,  and  hence  to  our  oioyi  nation  and 
people.  This  fact  deserves  to  be  seriously  pondered.  In  the  case 
of  the  Jews,  God  has  taught  us  how  he  will  judge  and  punish 
every  other  guilty  nation,  including,  of  course,  our  own.  In  v.  15, 
the  phrase,  "•furious  rebukes,"  involves  the  two  ideas  of  infliction 
and  of  ivrath;  as  IlosenmuUer  fitly  suggests,  "not  castigation  as 
of  sons,  but  vengeance  as  against  enemies."  Yet  let  no  one  doubt 
that  these  appalling  judgments  on  the  guilty  Jews  and  their  pol- 
luted city  were  really  demanded  by  the  largest  benevolence  and 
the  truest  wisdom.  For  the  Infinite  Sovereign  must  maintain  the 
honor  of  his  throne;  must  frown  fearfully  upon  such  horrible  in- 
sults and  outrages  upon  his  house  and  worship;  must  impress  the 
nations  with  a  salutary  fear  of  sinning; — else  would  the  universe 
go  down  before  the  powers  of  sin  and  hell,  and  its  well-being  be 

forever  blasted. If  it  be  asked.  Why  such  threatenings  against 

Jerusalem  and  the  Jews  of  Judea,  in  the  prophecies  of  JEzekiel, 
borne  only  to  the  exiles  in  Chaldea  ?  The  answer  is  at  hand. 
Those  Jews  in  their  native  land  were  their  own  brethren  and 
.fathers;  that  city  was  their  own  loved  home.  These  judgments, 
therefore,  appealed  to  their  tenderest  sympathies,  and  were  brought 
thus  vividly  before  their  mind  for  their  moral  good.  The  Divine 
hope  and  purpose  were  to  impress  them  with  God's  abhorrence  of 
idolatry,  to  open  their  eyes  to  its  guilt,  and  turn  their  heart  effec- 
tually from  this  great  national  sin. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


This  chapter  is  in  the  same  strain  with  chapters  4,  5,  and  7 — 
predicting  fearful  judgments  on  the  land  and  people  of  Judah — 
this  strain  being  broken  only  by  a  brief  reference  to  a  remnant 
that  should  survive  and  repent  (vs.  8,  9). 

1.  And  the  word  of  the  Lord  came  unto  me,  saying, 

2.  Son  of  man,  set  thy  face  toward  the  mountains  of  Is- 
rael, and  prophesy  against  them, 

3.  And  say,  Ye  mountains  of  Israel,  hear  the  word  of 
the  Lord  God :  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God  to  the  mountains, 
and  to  the  hills,  to  the  rivers,  and  to  the  valleys ;  Behold, 
I,  even  I,  will  bring  a  sword  upon  you,  and  I  will  destroy 
your  high  places. 

4.  And  your  altars  shall  be  desolate,  and  your  images 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  VI.  39 

shall  be  broken :  and  I  will  cast  down  your  slain  men  be- 
fore your  idols. 

5.  And  I  will  lay  the  dead  carcasses  of  the  children  of 
Israel  before  their  idols;  and  I  will  scatter  your  bones 
round  about  your  altars. 

6.  In  all  your  dwelling-places  the  cities  shall  be  laid 
waste,  and  the  high  places  shall  be  desolate ;  that  your  al- 
tars may  be  laid  waste  and  made  desolate,  and  your  idols 
may  be  broken  and  cease,  and  your  images  may  be  cut 
down,  and  your  works  may  be  abolished. 

7.  And  the  slain  shall  fall  in  the  midst  of  you,  and  ye 
shall  know  that  I  am  the  Lord. 

With  a  bold  personification,  the  mountains,  hills,  ravines  and 
valleys,  desecrated  by  the  horrid  rites  of  idolatry,  are  here  ad- 
dressed as  if  intelligent  and  conscious  of  guilt  and  danger.  The 
Lord  threatens  to  bring  the  sword  upon  those  desecrated  places, 
and  to  cut  down  the  guilty  idolaters  so  that  their  dead  bodies  shall 
lie  unburied  around  their  altars  and  before  their  idols.  Carrying 
out  this  bold  personification  to  the  letter,  the  Lord  closes — "Ye" 
(the  mountains,  hills  and  valleys)  "  shall  yourselves  know  that  I 
am  the  Lord;"  {.  e.^  when  ye  shall  see  the  slain  idolaters  fallen  on 
every  side  of  the  altars  of  the  idol  gods  they  had  wickedly  wor- 
shiped there. In  v.  4,  the  Hebrew  rendered   "your   images," 

implies  that  they  were  images  in  honor  of  the  sun;  probably  used 
in  the  worship  of  Baal. In  v.  6,  the  last  word,  rendered  "abol- 
ished," has  the  strong  sense  of  loiped  out,  obliterated;  implying  that 
Grod  would  wash  the  land  clean  of  these  abominations. 

8.  Yet  will  I  leave  a  remnant,  that  ye  may  have  some 
that  shall  escape  the  sword  among  the  nations,  when  ye 
shall  be  scattered  through  the  countries. 

9.  And  they  that  escaj^e  of  you  shall  remember  me 
among  the  nations  whither  they  shall  be  carried  captives, 
because  I  am  broken  with  their  whorish  heart,  which  hath 
departed  from  me,  and  with  their  eyes  which  go  a  whoring 
after  their  idols:  and  they  shall  loathe  themselves  for  the 
evils  which  they  have  committed  in  all  their  abominations. 

10.  And  they  shall  know  that  I  am  the  Lord,  and  that  I 
have  not  said  in  vain  that  I  would  do  this  evil  unto  them. 

The  destruction  of  the  covenant  people  will  not  be  universal  and 
utter.  A  small  remnant  of  the  captives  will  be  spared  and  ulti- 
mately brought  to  repentance.  This  precious  truth  is  interposed 
here  for  the  comfort  of  those  who  still  retained  some  fear  of  God, 
and  for  the  encouragement  of  those  who  could  be  moved  to  serious 

thought  toward  repentance. In  the  middle  clause  of  v.  9,  the 

course  of  thought  is  more  natural  and  easy  if  we  read,  not  "  Be- 


40  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  VI. 

cause  I  am   broken,"  etc.,  but,  ^^When  I  shall  have  broken  their 

whorish  heart and  [subdued  to  tears]  those  ejes  that  went 

a  whoring  after  their  idols,"  etc.  The  form  of  the  Hebrew  verb 
fully  admits  this  construction.  The  precise  sense  would  be,  When 
1  shall  have  broken /or  viysclf^  for  my  own  glory — the  Xiphal  con- 
jugation having  here  the  sense  of  the  Greek  middle  voice.  Thus 
the  sentiment  corresponds  with  that  in  Ezek.  36:  31,  32;  "Then 
shall  ye  remember  your  own  evil  ways,  and  your  doings  that  were 
not  good,  and  shall  loathe  yourselves  in  your  own  sight  for  your 
iniquities  and  for  all  your  abominations.  Not  for  your  sakes  do 
i  this,  saith  the  Lord  God,  be  it  known  unto  you :  be  ashamed  and 
confounded  for  your  own  Avays,  O  house  of  Israel !  " "  Shall  re- 
member me" — shall  recall  to  mind  their  obligations  to  me,  their 
sins  against  me,  and  the  love  I  have  shown  them.  This  is  the 
main  antecedent  step  to  repentance.  "I  thought  on  my  ways,  and 
turned  my  feet  to  thy  testimonies."  So  Ezek.  36 :  31  (above  cited), 
and  Zech.  10:  9,  "They  shall  remember  me  in  far  countries,  and 
they  shall  live  with  their  children,  and  turn  again." 

11.  Thus  saitli  the  Lord  God;  Smite  with  thy  hand, 
and  stamp  with  thy  foot,  and  say,  Alas,  for  all  the  evil 
abominations  of  the  house  of  Israel !  for  they  shall  fall  by 
the  sword,  by  the  famine,  and  by  the  pestilence. 

12.  He  that  is  far  oif  shall  die  of  the  pestilence;  and  he 
that  is  near  shall  fall  by  the  sword;  and  he  that  remaineth 
and  is  besieged  shall  die  by  the  famine :  thus  will  I  accom- 
plish my  fury  uj)on  them. 

13.  Then  shall  ye  know  that  I  am  the  Lord,  when  their 
slain  men  shall  be  among  their  idols  round  about  their 
altars,  upon  every  high  hill,  in  all  the  tops  of  the  mount- 
ains, and  under  every  green  tree,  and  under  every  thick 
oak,  the  place  where  they  did  offer  sweet  savor  to  all  their 
idols. 

Ezekiel  is  usually  very  emphatic  and  demonstrative — here,  by 
special  divine  direction.  These  strong  gestures  would  bespeak 
the  earnestness  of  his  soul,  or  rather,  of  God's  own  heart  in  the 

utterance  of  these   solemn  warnings. The  people  would  have 

convincing  proof  that  God  had  spoken  these  words  of  doom  when 
they  should  see  the  idol-worshipers  lying  dead  among  their  idols 
and  around  their  altars  in  every  place  where  they  had  made  ofier- 
ings  to  idol  gods. In  v.  12,  the  word  rendered  "besieged"  de- 
mands the  good  sense — who  has  been  preserved^  kept,  i.  c,  from  the 
sword.     He,  though  saved  from  the  sword,  shall  die  of  famine. 

14.  So  will  I  stretch  out  my  hand  upon  them,  and  make 
the  land   desolate,  yea,  more  desolate  than  the  Avilderness. 
toward  Diblath,  in  all  their  habitations:    and  they  shall 
know  that  I  ain  the  Lord. 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  VII.  41 

The  strength  of  critical  testimony  is  decidedly  in  favor  of 
Riblah,  rather  than  "Diblath" — the  whole  clause  to  he  rendered, 
•'desolate  from  the  wilderness  unto  Riblah,"  ?,  e.,  throughout  its 
whole  extent,  since  "the  wilderness"  is  probably  that  which  lay 
on  the  south  of  Judah,  and  lliblah  was  just  outside  their  northern 
border.  This  city  became  prominent  in  Jewish  history  as  the 
head-quarters  of  the  king  of  Babylon  when  Jerusalem  fell  before 
his  arms. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

This  chapter  continues  and  closes  this  particular  message,  and 
announces  the  fearful  doom  of  the  guilty  Jews  and  of  their  city. 
The  points  made  specially  prominent  are — that  this  day  of  judg- 
ment is  very  near^  and  that  the  ruin  it  shall  bring  upon  the  city, 
the  land  and  the  people,  shall  be  extreme  and  utter. 

1.  Moreover  the  word  of  the  Lord  came  unto  me,  saying, 

2.  Also,  thou  son  of  man,  thus  saith  the  Lord  God  unto 
the  land  of  Israel ;  An  end,  the  end  is  come  upon  the  four 
corners  of  the  land. 

3.  Now  is  the  end  come  upon  thee,  and  I  will  send  mine 
anger  upon  thee,  and  will  judge  thee  according  to  thy  ways, 
and  will  recompense  u^ion  thee  all  thine  abominations. 

4.  And  mine  eye  shall  not  spare  thee,  neither  will  I  have 
pity :  but  I  will  recompense  thy  ways  upon  thee,  and  thine 
abominations  shall  be  in  the  midst  of  thee:  and  ye  shall 
know  that  I  am  the  Lord. 

A  terrible  emphasis  is  laid  upon  the  oft  repeated  words,  '''■the 
end  is  come!^  The  land  is  to  be  made  utterly  desolate.  Its  beauty 
and  glory  will  go  down  in  the  darkness  of  night.  God  will  pour 
out  his  wrath  upon  them  and  requite  them  for  all  their  abominable 
idolatries.  "  Thine  abominations  shall  be  in  the  midst  of  thee," 
implies  that  they  will  be  there,  not  as  sins  being  committed  and 
enjoyed,  but  as  sins  calling  loudly  for  retribution  and  bringing  it 
down  terribly  uj)on  the  long  sinning  people. 

5.  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God;  An  evil,  an  only  evil,  be- 
hold, is  come. 

6.  An  end  is  come,  the  end  is  come :  it  watcheth  for  thee ; 
behold,  it  is  come. 

In  V.  5,  "an  only  evil" — literally,  a  one  evil,  I  understand  to 
mean,  not  strictly  a  pure,  unmixed  evil,  but  rather,  one  all-com- 
prehensive calamity,  which  at  one  fell  blow  should  smite  down  all 
their  happiness  and  well-being. In  v.  6,  "the  end"  is  the  pro- 


42  EZEKIEL.— CHAP,  VII. 

destined,  long  predicted  and  deserved  end.  In  the  next  clause  I 
prefer  to  read,  not  "it  watcheth  for  thee;"  but  it  awaketh  and 
riseth  up  against  thee — as  if  it  had  been  a  slumbering  giant,  but 
now  starts  from  its  slumbers  and  puts  itself  on  the  alert  to  do  its 
work, 

7.  The  morning  is  come  upon  thee,  O  tliou  that  dwellest 
in  the  land :  the  time  is  come,  the  day  of  trouble  is  near ; 
and  not  the  sounding  again  of  the  mountains. 

The  sense  of  the  first  word  is  not  morning^  as  of  the  opening  of 
the  predicted  day;  but  cycle;  the  cycle  has  come  ro\md  to  thee;  the 
fixed  divine  order  which  brings  judgment  after  and   upon   great 

sin.     The  Hebrew  word  here  is  not  the  usual  one  for  morning. 

The  last  clause,  "  and  not  the  sounding  again  of  the  mountains," 
contains  an  allusion  not  patent  to  the  casual  reader,  and  not  easily 
traced  without  the  aid  of  the  original.  The  word  here  rendered 
"  sounding  again"  is  a  shorter  form  of  the  word  which  is  used  either 
for  the  shouting  of  those  who  tread  grapes,  or  for  the  shouts  of 
victory  in  battle.  Isaiah  plays  upon  this  twofold  use  of  the  word 
when  he  says  of  Moab  (chap.  16  :  9,  10),  "I  will  water  thee  with 
my  tears,  because  upon  thy  summer  fruits  and  thy  harvests,  the  war- 
shout"  (not  the  grape-treaders'  shout)  "has  fallen."  By  an  anal- 
ogous play  upon  the  two  current  senses  of  this  word,  this  prophet, 
alluding  to  the  outcries  common  in  the  orgies  of  idol-worship  on 
the  hills,  says,  There  shall  be  no  more  such  shouts  of  idol-wor- 
shipers on  your  high  places,  but  instead  of  it,  the  battle-cry  of 
thy  conquerors.  The  latter  is  rather  implied  than  expressed ;  but 
is  manifestly  involved  by  the  force  of  prophetic  usage  in  this 
special  play  on  the  word.     Jeremiah  (51 :  14)  has  the  same  usage, 

The  reference   to    "the    mountains"    looks    to    the    passages 

(Ezek,  6 :  2,  3,  13)  which  locate  their  idol-worship  on  the  high 
pfaces. 

8.  Now  will  I  shortly  pour  out  my  fury  upon  thee,  and 
accomplish  mine  anger  upon  thee :  and  I  will  judge  thee 
according  to  thy  ways,  and  will  recompense  thee  for  all 
thine  abominations. 

9.  And  mine  eye  shall  not  spare,  neither  will  I  have 
pity :  T  will  recompense  thee  according  to  thy  ways,  and 
thine  abominations  that  are  in  the  midst  of  thee;  and  ye 
shall  know  that  I  am  the  Lord  that  smiteth. 

10.  Behold  the  day,  behold,  it  is  come;  the  morning  is 
gone  forth ;  the  rod  hath  blossomed,  pride  hath  budded. 

11.  Violence  is  risen  up  into  a  rod  of  wickedness :  none 
of  them  shall  remahiy  nor  of  their  multitude,  nor  of  any  of 
theirs :  neither  shall  there  he  wailing  for  them. 

In  v,  10  the  word  "morning"  is  the  same  as  in  v,  7,  and  in  the 
same  sense.     The  cycle  of  the  divine  order  brings  thee  thy  day  of 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  VII.  43 

doom. "  The  Tod  hath  blossomed  " — the  rod  for  thy  scourging 

hath  developed  itself  and  is  in  readiness  for  service ;  the  pride 
of  thy  conquerors  flowers  out,  i.  e.,  into  action  and  life,  impelling 
them  on  to  war  and  destruction  against  thee.  The  figure  in  re- 
gard to  pride  follows  the  previous  figure   of  the  rod.      Violence 

becomes  a  rod  to  scourge  and  punish  thy  wickedness. Critics 

disagree  somewhat  in  the  interpretation  of  the  middle  clause  of 
V.  11,  where  our  translators  have  supplied  the  words,  "shall  re- 
main." Yet  it  can  not  well  be  doubted  that  the  general  sense  is, 
This  violence  shall  bring  upon  the  Jews  a  sweeping  unsparing 
destruction,  one  which  nothing  shall  survive.  The  precise  render- 
ing of  the  original  may  be,  "There  shall  be  nothing  of  them^  nor 
of  their  multitude,  nor  of  their  wealth."  The  Hebrew  presents  a 
striking  paranomasia  in  these  three  leading  words  here  italicized. 

The  last  clause  Gesenius  renders,  "Nor  shall  aught  splendid 

remain  among  them."  This  is  in  better  harmony  with  the  scope 
of  the  verse  than  the  sense  given  in  the  English  translation,  which 
follows  the  ancient  Jewish  interpreters. 

12.  The  time  is  come,  the  day  draweth  near:  let  not  the 
buyer  rejoice,  nor  the  seller  mourn :  for  wrath  is  upon  all 
the  multitude  thereof. 

13.  For  the  seller  shall  not  return  to  that  which  is  sold, 
although  they  were  yet  alive :  for  the  vision  is  touching  the 
whole  multitude  thereof,  which  shall  not  return;  neither 
shall  any  strengthen  himself  in  the  iniquity  of  his  life. 

The  customary  business  transactions  of  life  will  cease,  and  with 
them  the  consequent  feelings  of  joy  or  sorrow  Avhich  they  occa- 
sion. Let  not  the  buyer  rejoice  in  his  purchase  and  new  acquisi- 
tion; it  shall  avail  him  nothing.  Let  not  the  seller  mourn  as  one 
compelled  to  part  with  things  of  fond  endearment;  it  is  all  the 
same  to  him,  for  none  can  retain  the  choice  things  they  prize  most. 
The  wrath  of  Grod  is  upon  all  the  people,  to  poison  all  the  enjoy- 
ments of  life. To  see  the  force  of  this  passage,  one  needs  to 

bear  in  mind  the  wide  distinction  between  the  business  dealings 
of  oriental  and  Hebrew  life,  and  those  of  our  own  age  and  country. 
Selling,  especially  of  real  estate,  was  then  not  a  business,  but  a 
necessity.  Men  sold  only  when  poverty  or  necessity  compelled 
them.     Hence  the  presumption  that  the  seller  would  mourn  and 

the  buyer  rejoice. The  seller's  returning  to  what  he  has  sold 

contemplates  that  provision  of  the  Hebrew  law  by  which  real 
estate,  having  been  sold,  returned  to  its  former  owner  at  the  Jubi- 
lee. (Lev.  25:  23.)  The  prophet  says  that  although  the  seller 
should  live  to  the  next  Jubilee,  yet  the  country  would  then  be 
desolate;  there  would  be  no  returning  to  the  possession  of  land 
sold.  This  prophetic  vision  relates  to  the  whole  people,  and  not 
one  shall  escape  this  visitation  of  judgment  and  doom.  It  could 
avail  nothing  for  any  man  to  make  himself  strong  in  his  iniquity. 


44  EZEKIEL.— CIIAr.  VII. 

He  could  by  no  means  withstand  the  terrible  foes  whom  God  was 
about  to  bring  down  upon  the  land. 

14.  They  have  bloAvn  the  trumpet,  even  to  make  all 
ready ;  but  none  goeth  to  the  battle :  for  my  >vrath  is  upon 
all  the  multitude  thereof. 

15.  The  sword  is  without,  and  the  pestilence  and  the 
famine  within:  he  that  is  in  the  field  shall  die  with  the 
sword;  and  he  that  is  in  the  city^  famine  and  pestilence 
shall  devour  him. 

The  thought  continues  from  the  previous  verses.  The  power  of 
the  Jews  to  withstand  their  enemies  avails  nothing.  They  blow 
the  trumpet  to  call  forth  the  people  to  war;  but  none  go  forth. 
They  are  powerless  against  those  enemies  because  God's  wrath  is 
upon  the  whole  nation;  and  what  can  men  do  in  self-protection 
when  the  mighty  God  arises  in  wrath  for  their  destruction  ? 

16.  But  they  that  escape  of  them  shall  escape,  and  shall 
be  on  the  mountains  like  doves  of  the  valleys,  all  of  them 
mourning,  every  one  for  his  iniquity. 

Here,  as  often  elsewhere,  amid  the  most  terrific  threatenings  of 
universal  doom,  there  breaks  forth  a  glimmering  ray  of  hope  for 
a  very  small  remnant — a  fcAV  who  shall  (as  said  here)  be  mourn- 
ing over  their  great  sins,  even  as  doves  of  the  valley  are  noted  for 
mourning  the  loss  of  their  mates.  Blessed  hope !  that  some  will 
repent  in  bitterness  for  their  sin  and  return  to  God  sorrowing,  to 
become  the  nucleus  of  the  future  Zion. 

17.  All  hands  shall  be  feeble,  and  all  knees  shall  be 
weak  as  water. 

18.  They  shall  also  gird  themselves  wdth  sackcloth,  and 
horror  shall  cover  them :  and  shame  shall  be  upon  all  faces, 
and  baldness  upon  all  their  heads. 

The  discourse  returns  to  its  former  theme — the  fearful  retribu- 
tions coming  on  Judah  and  her  people  for  their  great  sins.  "  All 
knees  shall  be  weak  as  water;"  the  original  puts  in  the  bolder 
form,  "All  knees  shidljlow  with  water;"  become  liquid  and  weak 

as  if  they  were  only  water. V.  18  groups  together  the  customary 

tokens  of  intense  grief  and  mourning.  Horror  invests  them,  be- 
coming like'  an  outside  garment,  apparent  on  every  face  and  in 
every  act  and  motion. 

19.  They  shall  cast  their  silver  in  the  streets,  and  their 
gold  shall  be  removed :  their  silver  and  their  gold  shall  not 
be  able  to  deliver  them  in  the  day  of  the  wrath  of  the  Lord : 
they  shall  not  satisfy  their  souls,  neither  fill  their  bowels: 
because  it  is  the  stumbling-block  of  their  iniquity. 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  VII.  45 

20.  As  for  the  beauty  of  liis  ornament,  he  set  it  in  maj- 
esty: but  they  made  the  images  of  their  abominations  and 
of  their  detestable  things  therein :  therefore  have  I  set  it 
far  from  them. 

In  a  day  of  such  calamity,  their  silver  and  gold  would  be  of  no 
account.  They  would  cast  their  silver  down  in  the  public  streets, 
and  throw  away  their  gold  as  a  thing  loathed  and  abominated,  for 
such  is  the  sense  of  the  Hebrew  word  rendered  '■'■removecV — this 
word,  as  used  by  our  translators,  covering  an  allusion  to  a  special 
form  of  uncleanness,  which  the  original  fully  sustains.     Compare 

Ezek.  36 :  17. Gold  and  silver  will  not  avail  them  to  withstand 

the  wrath  of  God  or  to  satisfy  their  personal  wants,  because  it  has 
been  their  temptation — in  this  sense  "  the  stumbling-block  of  their 

iniquity" — an  occasion  of  their  falling  into  sin. 1  understand 

v.  20  to  say.  The  people  made  use  of  their  beautiful  ornaments  for 
purposes  of  pride  and  display.  They  also  made  their  images  of 
idols  and  abominations  out  of  this  gold  and  silver  (as  in  Ex.  32), 
and  therefore  God  made  this  wealth  a  thing  loathed,  abhorred  and 

cast  away. Thus  God  is  wont  to  send  judgments  so  plainly  in 

the  line  of  men's  sins  as  to  remind  them  perpetually  of  the  sins 
which  they  were  sent  to  scourge. 

21.  And  I  will  give  it  into. the  hands  of  the  strangers  for 
a  prey,  and  to  the  wicked  of  the  earth  for  a  spoil ;  and  they 
shall  pollute  it. 

22.  My  face  will  I  turn  also  from  them,  and  they  shall 
pollute  my  secret  place:  for  the  robbers  shall  enter  into  it, 
and  defile  it. 

God  will  turn  his  face  away  from  his  nominal  people,  hearing 
their  prayer  and  granting  them  aid  no  more.  Consequently  their 
enemies  shall  pollute  the  Lord's  secret  place,  his  inner  sanctuary. 

the  "  holy  of  holies,"  where  his  glory  had  long  dwelt. "Robbers' 

are  men  of  notorious  violence;  here,  the  Chaldean  armies. 

23.  Make  a  chain :  for  the  land  is  full  of  bloody  crimes, 
and  the  city  is  full  of  violence. 

24.  Wherefore  I  will  bring  the  worst  of  the  heathen,  and 
they  shall  possess  their  houses:  I  will  also  make  the  pomp 
of  the  strong  to  cease,  and  their  holy  places  shall  be  defiled. 

"Make  a  chain,"  a  new  symbol,  as  if  the  very  land  was  to  be 
bound  and  delivered  over  a  culprit  into  tlxe  hands  of  the  officers  of 
justice.  Their  bloody  crimes,  crimes  worthy  of  death,  deserved 
such  retribution.  The  passage  indicates  that  atrocious  immoralities 
filled  the  land — the  natural  fruit  of  such  extreme  apostasy  from 

God  and  of  such  debasing  and  polluting  idolatry. The  word 

rendered,  "their  holy  places,"  may  mean  tlieir  priests^  the  class  who 
by  profession  consecrated  the  people  to  God.    Even  this  sacred  order 


46  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  VII. 

of  men  will  be  dishonored,  treated  with  extreme  indignity  and  vio- 
lence. So  the  pomp  of  the  strong  and  the  sanctity  of  the  holy  ones 
should  alike  fail  to  screen  and  save  them;  should  rather  conduct 
down  upon  their  heads  the  vengeance  of  God  for  their  great  sins. 

25.  Destruction  cometh;  and  they  shall  seek  peace,  and 
there  shall  he  none. 

Instead  of  "destruction,"  I  prefer  ^^ horror,''^  as  more  close  to  the 
sense  of  the  Hebrew  and  in  better  keeping  with  the  context.  When 
a  horror  of  great  fear  shall  fall  on  them,  they  shall  seek  peace,  but 
in  vain. 

26.  Mischief  shall  come  upon  mischief,  and  rumor  shall 
be  upon  rumor ;  then  shall  they  seek  a  vision  of  the  prophet ; 
but  the  laAV  shall  perish  from  the  priest,  and  counsel  from 
the  ancients. 

27.  The  king  shall  mourn,  and  the  prince  shall  be  clothed 
with  desolation,  and  the  hands  of  the  people  of  the  land 
shall  be  troubled :  I  will  do  unto  them  after  their  way,  and 
according  to  their  deserts  will  I  judge  them,  and  they  shall 
know  that  I  am  the  Lord. 

Like  king  Saul  when  the  Lord  had  forsaken  him,  they  shall  seek 
some  vision  from  the  Lord,  but  he  shall  make  them  no  reply.  He  shuts 
his  ear  and  gives  them  no  counsel  in  the  day  of  their  imploring  cry. 
So  he  said  (Prov.  1 :  28),  "  Then  shall  they  caU  upon  me,  but  I  will 
not  answer;  they  shall  seek  me  early  [earnestly],  but  they  shall  not 

find  me." ^Even  the  king  is  not  too  high  in  station  or  too  much 

above  the  reach  of  calamity,  to  come  dovra  in  the  dust  as  a  bitter 
mourner.     These   terrible  judgments  would  reach  the  throne  and 

carry  terror  and  woe  to  all  hearts. Then  the  nations  abroad,  and 

the  Jewish  people  no  less,  will  know  that  the  Lord  Jehovah  is  indeed 
the  Lord — the  King  of  nations  and  the  righteous  Judge  and  Avenger 
of  the  guilty. 

Thus  closes  this  section  of  Ezekiel's  prophecies,  including  chap- 
ters 4—7,  freighted  with  threatenings  of  terrific  judgments  upon 
Jerusalem  and  Judah  for  their  grievous  idolatries  and  utter  apostasy 
from  their  own  God.  Let  us  bear  in  mind  that  these  announce- 
ments are  made  to  the  Jewish  exiles  in  Chaldea,  now  only  some  five 
years  out  from  their  dear  native  land,  and  up  to  this  moment,  doubt- 
less, full  of  hope  for  the  future  of  their  country,  and  very  probably, 
with  high  anticipations  of  themselves  returning  at  no  distant  day 
to  enjoy  peace  and  goo4  there.  Over  these  fond  hopes,  such  pre- 
dictions must  have  passed  rough-shod  like  the  terrible  threshing 
sledge  of  oriental  times,  crushing  them  down  into  shapeless  ruin. 
Yet  this  bitter  wreck  of  their  cherished  hopes  was  kindly  purposed 
on  God's  part  to  give  them  a  new  sense  of  the  awful  sin  of  idolatry 
and  to  open  their  eyes  to  the  wrath  of  God  against  their  nation  for 
this  great  national  sin.     It  was  the  Lord's  thought  of  mercy  to  re- 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  VIII.  47 

claim  arfd  save  a  remnant  out  of  these  captives,  and  it  was  vital  to 
its  realization  that  precisely  this  portrayal  of  their  nation's  guilt  and 
doom  should  be  set  vividly  before  their  eyes,  that  so  the  moral  power 
of  what  was  being  done  in  Judah  might  come  with  force  undimin- 
ished by  distance  upon  the  hearts  of  the  exiles  in  Chaldea. We, 

too,  may  fitly  pause  over  these  chapters  and  say.  Thus  the  Lord 
shows  his  high  and  holy  displeasure  against  sin  in  his  apostate  peo- 
ple. It  is  true  of  him  that  he  abhors  sin,  and  that,  after  long  for- 
bearance, the  hour  of  judgment  without  mercy  will  surely  come. 
When  it  does  come,  alas !  there  will  be  a  fearfulness  in  the  doom 
of  the  guilty  before  which  the  stoutest  hearts  are  appalled  with  ter- 
ror !  Verily,  it  can  not  be  well  for  sinners  to  provoke  the  Almighty 
to  vengeance !  When  God  says,  "  Mine  eye  shall  not  spare,  neither 
will  I  have  pity,"  woe  be  to  the  guilty  and  helpless  sinner !  Why 
did  he  not  take  the  kind  forewarning  and  avert  that  wrath  which 
no  heart  can  endure  ? 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

This  chapter  opens  a  very  extraordinary  vision,  the  details  of 
which  fill  four  chapters  (8-11).  It  has  its  well-defined  date — pre- 
cisely two  years  and  two  months  later  than  his  first  vision  (chap.  1), 
which  brought  to  him  the  Lord's  call  into  his  prophetic  office.  As 
already  shown  in  the  notes  near  the  close  of  chapter  4,  the  sym- 
bolic transaction  of  besieging  Jerusalem  and  bearing  the  iniquities 
of  Israel  and  Judah,  filled  up  the  interval  between  that  vision  and 

this,  and  was  now  just  closed. That  the  transactions  recorded  in 

these  four  chapters  were  all  seen  in  vision  and  not  done  in  the  ex- 
ternal world,  is  made  abundantly  clear  by  the  language  which  re- 
cords them.  "The  hand  of  the  Lord  fell  upon  me;"  ''I  saw  a  like- 
ness;" "He  put  forth  the  form  of  a  hand  and  took  me  by  a  lock  of 
mine  head,"  and  "the  Spirit  lifted  me  up  between  the  earth  and  the 
heaven,  and  brought  me  in  the  visions  of  God  to  Jerusalem."  There 
he  saw  the  Shekinah — the  visible  manifestation  of  the  glory  of  the 
Lord.  The  scene  closes  with  the  statement  (chap.  11 :  24,  25), 
"  After  that,  the  Spirit  took  me  up  and  brought  me  bach  in  a  vision 
by  the  Spirit  of  God  into  Chaldea  to  them  of  the  captivity.  So  the 
vision  that  I  had  seen  went  up  from  me.  Then  I  spake  unto  them 
of  the  captivity  all  the  things  that  the  Lord  had  showed  me."  All 
this  is  perfectly  explicit  to  the  point  that  the  scene  here  is  purely 
prophetic  vision.  Xone  of  his  fellow-captives  saw  it.  It  was  shown 
to  the  prophet  only.  When  it  closed,  he  reported  it  to  them  entire. 
Every  feature  in  this  description  conspires  to  make  a  clear  and  un- 
questionable case  of  a  pure  prophetic  vision. The  great  moral 

purposes  of  this  vision  are  obvious.  The  Lord  aimed  to  reveal  to 
his  prophet  and  through  him  to  the  exiles,  (1.)  The  horrible  abom- 


48  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  VIII. 

inations  of  iclol  worship  in  various  forms  as  they  existed  ih  Jerusa- 
lem and  within  the  very  temple  of  Jehovah:  and  (2.)  The  discrimi- 
nating judfcments  by  which  the  Lord  would  assuredly  sift  out  and 
cut  down  in  his  unsparinpi;  ven_i:;eance  all  the  guilty  idolaters  among 
his  people.  These  points  it  was  of  the  utmost  consequence  to  the 
captives  in  Chaldea  to  understand.  As  hearing  on  their  own  moral 
state,  it  was  vital  that  they  should  know  how  deeply  guilty  the 
masses  of  the  people  in  their  native  land  had  become;  how  much 
the  elders  and  the  priests  were  involved  in  this  guilt  as  indeed  the 
prime  leaders  in  it  by  their  position  and  example ;  and  how  terribly 
the  Lord  would  destroy  them  for  such  horrible  apostasy  and  deprav- 
ity. These  things  would  show  the  exiles  that  they  had  no  occasion 
to  sympathize  with  their  suffering  brethren  as  if  punished  too 
severely  in  the  terrible  calamities  of  sie^^e  and  ruin  then  closely 
impending.  They  would  also  be  a  forcible  and  most  pertinent 
warning  to  themselves  to  turn  away  from  those  same  sins  as  they 
would  escape  a  like  terrible  vengeance. 

1.  And  it  came  to  pass  in  the  sixth  year,  in  the  sixth 
month,  in  the  fifth  day  of  the  month,  as  I  sat  in  my  house, 
and  the  elders  of  Judah  sat  before  me,  that  the  hand  of  the 
Lord  God  fell  there  upon  me. 

2.  Then  I  beheld,  and  lo  a  likeness  as  the  appearance  of 
fije :  from  the  appearance  of  his  loins  even  downward,  fire ; 
and  from  his  loins  even  upward,  as  the  appearance  of 
brightness,  as  the  color  of  amber. 

3.  And  he  put  forth  the  form  of  a  hand,  and  took  me  by 
a  lock  of  my  head ;  and  the  spirit  lifted  me  up  between  the 
earth  and  the  heaven,  and  brought  me  in  the  visions  of  God 
to  Jerusalem,  to  the  door  of  the  inner  gate  that  looketh  to- 
w^ard  the  north;  where  was  the  seat  of  the  image  of  jeal- 
ousy, which  provoketh  to  jealousy. 

As  already  shown,  the  days  of  his  lying  on  his  side  (chap.  4) 
have  just  closed.  He  is  now  at  home,  sitting  quietly  in  his  own 
house.  The  elders  of  Judah  are  sitting  there  before  him,  deeply 
impressed  (we  may  suppose)  by  the  strangeness  of  that  scene,  by 
its  fearful  significance,  and  by  the  threatenings  of  judgment  on  the 
guilty  city  which  we  have  been  reading  in  chapters  5-7.  The  Lord 
proceeds  now  to  another  method  of  presenting,  first  to  the  prophet 
and  then  through  him  to  the  people,  essentially  the  same  ideas — the 
sin  and  the  doom  of  the  Jews  yet  remaining  in  Jerusalem.  The 
method  of  presenting  these  truths  is  obviously  varied  in  the  hope  of 

more  effectually  securing  thereby  the  desired  moral  impression. 

Let  us  note  that  this  method  of  presenting  to  the  prophet  and  to 
his  fellow-exiles  the  sin  and  doom  of  Jerusalem,  reveals  not  any 
human  view  of  those  points,  but  emphatically  and  precisely  God's 
vieio  of  them.  The  fiicts  are  shown  from  (lod's  own  stand-point. 
The  observer  sees  them  only  and  wholly  as  seen  and  shown  by  God 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  VIII.  49 

himself.  Hence  this  vision  teaches  us  how  God  looks  upon  Such 
sins  as  those,  among  his  own  covenant  people,  within  his  very  sanc- 
tuary, and  also  how  he  discriminatCfS  between  the  innocent  and  the 
guilty ;  by  what  marks  he  knows  and  points  out  the  innocent,  and 
with'^what  unsparing  vengeance  he  punishes  and*  even  exterminates 
all  save  those  who  bear  his  mark. The  glorious  personage,  pres- 
ent to  the  mind's  eye  of  the  prophet  in  this  vision,  is  the  same  who 
was  seen  on  the  movable  throne  in  chap.  1,  bearing  essentially  the 
same  description  as  in  chap.  1 :  26-2<S,  all  begirt  with  fire,  and  with 
a  resplendent  radiance  as  of  polished  brass;  the  word  rendered 
''the  color  of  amber,"  being  the  same  as  in  chap.  1:  4. The  im- 
pression of  being  transported  through  the  air  is  not  unknown  in  the 
phenomena  of  dreams.  How  closely  analogous  this  case  of  pro- 
phetic vision  may  be  to  the  experience  of  dreams,  it  is  impossible 
for  any  to  say  save  the  prophets  themselves.  Let  it  suffice  us  to 
rest  in  the  fact  that  He  who  made  the  mind  of  man  must  have 
ample  means  for  making  any  impression  upon  it  which  he  may  wish 

to  make. "The  door  of  the  inner  gate  that  looketh  toward  the 

north"   IS  the  temple. This    "image  of  jealousy"    is  an  idol 

image  which  provoked  the  jealousy  of  Almighty  God.  The  thought 
looks  toward  the  second  command,  "  Thou  shalt  not  make  unto  thee 
any  graven  image,"  etc. — "thou  shalt  not  bow  down  thyself  to  them 

nor  serve  them,  for  I  the  Lord  thy  God  am  a  jealous  God." In 

the  last  clause  of  verse  3,  the  Heb.  for  the  last  word  is  supposed  by 
Gesenius  to  mean,  "which  sells  the  nation  into  bondage."  Our 
translators  supposed  the  word  to  be  only  another  form  of  the  verb 
for  being  jealous.  Neither  sense  is  bad.  Some  of  the  ablest  modern 
critics  still  adhere  to  the  view  of  our  translators. 

4.  And  behold,  the  glory  of  the  God  of  Israel  was  there, 
according  to  the  vision  that  I  saw  in  the  plain. 

5.  Then  said  he  unto  me,  Son  of  man,  lift  up  thine  eyes 
now  the  way  toward  the  north.  So  I  lifted  up  mine  eyes 
the  way  toward  the  north,  and  behold  northward  at  the  gate 
of  the  altar  this  image  of  jealousy  in  the  entry. 

6.  He  said  furthermore  unto  me,  Son  of  man,  seest  thou 
what  they  do?  even  the  great  abominations  that  the  house 
of  Israel  committeth  here,  that  I  should  go  far  off  from  my 
sanctuary?  But  turn  thee  yet  again,  and  thou  shalt  see 
greater  abominations. 

The  "vision  seen  in  the  plain"  refers  to  chap.  3:  22,  23.  Here 
he  meets  again  the  same  glorious  personage  as  there,  in  the  form  of 
the  ancient  Shekinah.      This  personage    speaks  to  him  and  leads 

him  on  through  the  scenes  of  this  vision. Standing  in  the  temple 

at  Jerusalem  and  looking  toward  the  north,  he  sees  at  the  temple 
gate,  near  the  great  altar  of  burnt-offering,  this  idol-image  which 
provoked  the  God  of  Israel  to  jealousy.     His  divine  Guide  calls  his 

special  attention  to  this  first  abomination. The  clause,  "  That  I 

3 


60  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  VIII. 

should  go  far  off  from  my  sanctuary,"  speaks  of  those  abominations 
as  compeUlng  him  to  abandon  his  temple  and  give  it  up  to  destruc- 
tion. This  was  a  vital  point — the  more  so  because  the  Jews  pre- 
si:mptuously  assumed  that  God  could  not  let  the  city  be  destroyed 
so  long  as  his  temple  stood  there,  but  must  protect  the  city  for  his 
tcmpies  sake.  See  Notes  on  Jer.  7:  4.  It  seems  never  to  have 
occurred  to  them  that  such  abominations  would  compel  the  Lord  to 
abandon  his  temple  and  give  up  both  city  and  temple  to  destruction. 

7.  And  he  brought  me  to  the  door  of  the  court ;  and  when 

1  looked,  behold  a  hole  in  the  wall. 

8.  Then  said  he  unto  me,  Son  of  man,  dig  now  in  the 
wall :  and  when  I  had  digged  in  the  wall,  behold  a  door. 

9.  And  he  said  unto  me.  Go  in,  and  behold  the  wicked 
abominations  that  they  do  here. 

10.  So  I  went  in  and  saw;  and  behold  every  form  of 
creeping  things,  and  abominable  beasts,  and  all  the  idols  of 
the  house  of  Israel,  portrayed  upon  the  w^all  round  about. 

11.  And  there  stood  before  them  seventy  men  of  the  an- 
cients of  the  house  of  Israel,  and  in  the  midst  of  them  stood 
Jaazaniah  the  son  of  Shaphan,  with  every  man  his  censer 
in  his  hand  ;  and  a  thick  cloud  of  incense  w^ent  up. 

12.  Then  said  he  unto  me.  Son  of  man,  hast  thou  seen 
what  the  ancients  of  the  house  of  Israel  do  in  the  dark, 
every  man  in  the  chambers  of  his  imagery?  for  they  say, 
The  Lord  seeth  us  not;  the  Lord  hath  forsaken  the  earth. 

There  is  now  opened  to  the  prophet's  view  a  secret  "chamber  of 
imagery,"  the  walls  of  which  are  covered  with  delineations  of  all 
unclean  beasts  and  insects,  portrayed  here  as  objects  of  idolatrous 
worship.  This  species  of  idols  and  the  manner  of  delineating  them 
were  obviously  Egyptian,  borrowed  from  that  laud  where  almost 
every  known  animal  was  included  among  their  objects  of  reverence 
and  worship.  It  would  seem  that  this  base  form  of  idolatry  was 
kept  somewhat   back  from  public  view,   in  the   secret   chambers 

of  the  temple. These  seventy  men  of  the  ancients  of  the  house 

of  Israel  were  obviously  the  Jewish  Sanhedrim,  the  well-known  su- 
preme council  of  the  nation,  always  chosen  from  the  elders  of  the 
people.  It  was  their  sacred  duty  to  suppress  all  idolatry;  yet  here 
they  are  in  their  retired  chambers  with  every  man  his  censer  in  his 
hand  to  burn  incense  to  toads  and  snakes — to  every  base  and  abom- 
inable creature !  To  aggravate  the  case  yet  more,  there  stood  in  the 
midst  of  them,  probably  as  president  of  the  council,  Jaazaniah,  the 
son  of  Shaphan.  This  Shaphan  appears  in  the  history  of  Josiah's 
great  reformation  as  a  true  and  noble  man ;  also  in  the  life  of  Jere- 
miah as  the  father  of  Ahikam,  that  prophet's  powerful  friend.     See 

2  Kings  22,  and  Jer.  26 :  21.  If  Jaazaniah  was  now  at  the  head  of 
the  Sanhedrim,  and  if  he  was  also  the  son  (and  not  the  grandson) 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  VIII.  51 

of  Shaphan,  he  must  on  both  grounds  have  been  at  this  time  far 
advanced  in  years,  and  for  this  reason  his  sin  in  this  idol  worship 
was  the  greater  and  the  more  appalling.  Shaphan  was  somewhat 
advanced  in  years  when  he  appears  prominently  in  Josiah's  reforma- 
tion; i.  e.i  in  this  king's  eighteenth  year;  full  thirty  years  before  this 
vision.  It  was,  therefore,  for  many  reasons  a  strong  case  that  Jaaz- 
aniah,  the  son  of  the  good  Shaphan  and  now  the  president  of  the 
Sanhedrim,  hoary  with  years  and  perhaps  trembling  on  the  brink 
of  the  grave,  should  be  leading  on  his  younger  brethren  of  this  great 
council  in  these  most  base  and  debasing  idolatries.  Alas !  how  were 
the  noble  fallen !     And  how  manifestly  hopeless  of  reform  must  the 

nation  have  become ! The  Lord  saw  their  deeds  of  darkness  and 

revealed  them  in  vision  to  his  prophet.  "Son  of  man,  hast  thou 
seen?"     Take  note  of  it,  for  it  testifies  to  the  deep  and  hopeless 

corruption  of  the  whole  people ! Observe  what  they  say.     "  The 

Lord  seetli  us  not;  the  Lord  hath  forsaken  the  earth."  This  was  at 
least  the  language  of  their  heart — that  inner  thought  with  which 
they  cast  off  all  fear  of  God  and  all  just  sense  of  his  presence.  Per- 
haps the  Lord  does  not  mean  to  say  that  they  openly  taught  this 
doctrine  to  others,  or  even  publicly  avowed  it ;  yet  even  this  would 
not  be  incredible,  and  if  true,  would  only  evince  their  confirmed 

moral  hardihood  and  infatuation. RosenmuUer  cites  from  Am- 

mianus  Marcellinus,  a  Latin  historian,  to  the  efiect  that  the  Egyp- 
tians practiced  precisely  this  form  of  idol  worship  in  subterranean 
recesses,  sculpturing  on  house-walls  many  kinds  of  fowls  and  of 
wild  beasts  which  they  designated  with  hieroglyphic  characters. 

13.  He  said  also  unto  me,  turn  thee  yet  again,  and  thou 
slialt  see  greater  abominations  that  they  do. 

14.  Then  he  brought  me  to  the  door  of  the  gate  of  the 
Lord's  house,  which  ivas  toward  the  north ;  and  behold,  there 
sat  women  weeping  for  Tammuz. 

15.  Then  said  he  unto  me,  Hast  thou  seen  tJiis,  O  son  of 
man?  Turn  thee  yet  again,  and  thou  shalt  see  greater 
abominations  than  these. 

This  form  of  idolatry  was  Syrian,  Tammuz  being  probably  the 
celebrated  youthful  Adonis,  over  whose  untimely  (supposed)  death, 
the  Syrian  damsels  held  an  annual  mourning.  As  the  legend  runs, 
Adonis  was  subsequently  found  alive,  or  restored  from  the  dead, 
whereupon  their  mourning  turns  to  exuberant  joy.  Foul  and 
licentious  practices  followed.  "The  finding  again  was  the  com- 
mencement of  a  ivake,  accompanied  by  all  the  usages  which  in  the 
East  attend  such  a  ceremony — prostitution,  cutting  off  the  hair, 
cutting  the  breast  with  knives,  and  playing  on  pipes."  (Smith's 
Bible  Dictionary.) 

16.  And  he  brought  me  into  the  inner  court  of  the  Lord's 
house,  and  behold,  at  the  door  of  the  temple  of  the  Lord, 
between  the  porch  and  the  altar,  ivere  about  five  and  twenty 


52  EZEIKEL.— CHAP.  VIII. 

• 

men,  with  their  backs  toward  the  temple  of  the  Lord,  and 
tlieir  faces  toward  the  east;  and  they  worshijied  the  sun 
toward  the  east. 

17.  Then  he  said  unto  me.  Hast  thou  seen  this,  O  son  of 
man  ?  Is  it  a  light  thing  to  the  house  of  Judah  that  they 
commit  the  abominations  which  they  commit  here  ?  for  they 
have  filled  the  land  with  violence,  and  have  returned  to 
provoke  me  to  anger:  and  lo,  they  put  the  branch  to  their 
nose. 

18.  Therefore  will  I  also  deal  in  fury  ;  mine  eye  shall  not 
si^are,  neither  wdll  I  have  pity:  and  though  they  cry  in 
mine  ears  with  a  loud  voice,  yet  w^ill  I  not  hear  them. 

Here  are  twenty-five  men,  their  backs  to  the  temple  of  the  Lord, 
and  their  faces  eastward,  worshiping  the  sun.  As  the  other 
special  forms  of  idolatry  were  Egyptian  and  Syrian  in  their  origin, 
this  is  nationally  Persian,  yet  was  in  most  ancient  times  wide- 
spread, and  very  probably  was  the  earliest  form  of  idolatry.  Job 
refers  to  it,  chap.  31 :  26-28,  "If  I  beheld  the  sun  when  it  shined, 
or  the  moon,  walking  in  brightness,  and  my  heart  hath  been 
secretly  enticed,  or  my  mouth  hath  kissed  my  hand ;  this  also  were 
an  iniquity  to  be  punished  by  the  judge;  for  I  should  have  denied 

the  God  above." The  revealing  personage  now  appeals  to  the 

prophet  to  say  if  such  base  idolatries  can  be  accounted  a  small 
thing.  Especially  considered  as  practiced  by  the  house  of  Judah, 
the  ancient  covenant  people  of  the  living  God,  ought  He  not  to 
be  jealous  for  his  holy  name,  and  take  vengeance  on  such  sinners? 
Nor  was  their  sin  limited  to  idol  worship.  Under  the  influ- 
ence of  idolatry,  the  people  had  become  grossly  immoral.  They 
had  "filled  the  land  with  violence" — the  usual  phrase  to  indicate 
assaults  and  murders.  Idolatry  is  the  legitimate  mother  of  extreme 
immorality.  It  discards  the  fear  of  God,  and  breaks  down  all  the 
restraints  that  come  upon  the  minds  of  men  from  just  views  of  the 
great,  the  pure  and  the  ever-glorious  Jehovah.     Thus  it  opens  the 

floodgates   of  human   depravity. "Putting   the   branch   to  the 

nose"  is  thought  to  refer  to  a   Persian  ceremony,  practiced    in 

their  worship  of  the  sun  and  of  its  symbol,  fire. For  all  these 

gi-ievous  sins,  the  Lord  will  surely  scourge  and  punish  his  apostate 
people ;  he  will  not  spare ;  and  however  imploring  their  cry,  he  will 
not  hear!  There  is  a  time  for  prayer;  but,  that  time  once  past, 
there  comes  another  hour  which  is  not  the  time  for  prayer.  Woe 
to  the  sinner  who  waits  till  then  ere  he  lifts  up  his  beseeching  cry 

for  mercy! As  bearing  on  the  fearful  doom  of  the  incorrigibly 

wicked  in  the  future  world,  this  testimony  from  God  himself  is 
fearfully  in  point  to  show  that  there  is  a  time  when  cries  for  mercy 
will  be  unavailing.  If  there  come  such  hours  in  tlia  lighter  judg- 
ments of  time,  what  must  we  not  expect  amid  the  fir  sorer  judg- 
ments of  eternity! 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  IX.  53 


CHAPTER  IX. 

This  chapter  continues  the  subject  of  the  chapter  preceding. 
The  prophet  is  shown  in  vision  how  the  Lord  discriminates  between 
his  friends  and  his  enemies,  to  spare  the  one  and  to  slay  the  other 
without  mercj. 

1.  He  cried  also  in  mine  ears  with  a  loud  voice,  saying, 
Cause  them  that  have  charge  over  the  city  to  draw  near, 
even  every  man  ivith  his  destroying  weapon  in  his  hand. 

2.  And  behold,  six  men  came  from  the  w^ay  of  the  higher 
gate,  Avhicli  lietli  toward  the  north,  and  every  man  a  slaugh- 
ter-weapon in  his  hand ;  and  one  man .  among  them  was 
clothed  with  linen,  with  a  writer's  inkhorn  by  his  side :  and 
they  went  in  and  stood  beside  the  brazen  altar. 

These  men  represent  the  executive  agents  or  ministers  of  the 
Lord's  providential  government  over  the  city.  The  object  of  this 
vision  is  to  set  before  the  eye  of  the  prophet  the  fact  of  God's  retrib- 
utive judgments    upon  the    city,    and  the    manner    in  which  his 

agents   perform  their  mission. The  "man  clothed  with  linen" 

is  not  attired  for  slaughter.  Linen,  so  commonly  worn  by  the 
priests,  would  have  been  out  of  place   on  the  men  who  bore  the 

"slaughter-weapons." It  was  the  custom  of  official  scribes  to 

attach  their  inkhorn  to  their  girdles. The  executioners  take  their 

stand  first  beside  the  brazen  altar,  to  begin  their  work  at  the  point 
which  best  indicated  the  great  sin  of  the  people — the  desecration  of 
God's  holy  altar. 

3.  And  the  glory  of  the  God  of  Israel  was  gone  up  from 
the  cherub,  w^hereupon  he  was,  to  the  threshold  of  the 
house.  And  he  called  to  the  man  clothed  with  linen, 
which  had  the  writer's  inkhorn  by  his  side. 

4.  And  the  Lord  said  unto  him.  Go  through  the  midst 
of  the  city,  through  the  midst  of  Jerusalem,  and  set  a  mark 
upon  the  foreheads  of  the  men  that  sigh  and  that  cry  for 
all  the  abominations  that  be  done  in  the  midst  thereof. 

This  "glory  of  the  God  of  Israel"  I  take  to  be  the  Shekinah 
of  the  Mosaic  economy  (see  Ex.  29:  43,  and  40:  34,  35,  and  1  Kings 
8  :  11).  Its  resting-place  was  over  and  upon  the  cherubim  whose 
outspread  wings  covejed  the  mercy-seat  or  lid  of  the  ark  of  testi- 
mony. This  removal  to  the  threshold  seems  to  have  the  twofold 
object;  (1)  of  indicating  that  he  was  soon  to  withdraw  from  this 
desecrated  and  doomed  temple;  and  (2)  of  placing  himself  in  nearer 
proximity  to  the  executioners  of  his  vengeance  as  if  to  supervise  and 
direct  their  movements.     Chap.    10  •  18  notes   the  return  of  this 

Shekinah  to  his  usual  position. The  godly  men  of  the  city  must 

first  be  discriminated  and  marked  before  the  wicked  are  slain.     So 


54  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  IX. 

in  tlie  end  of  the  world :  "  lie  shall  separate  them  one  from  another 
as  a  shepherd  divideth  his  sheep  from  the  j^oats,  and  he  shall  set 
the  sheep  on  his  right  hand  and  the  goats  on  his  left"  (Mat. 
25  :  32,  33).    Judgment  can  never  proceed  till  this  separation  is  first 

provided  for. The  Ijearcr  of  the  writer's  inkhorn  knows  his  men 

by  their  tears  and  sighs.  It  is  assumed  to  be  impossible  that  any 
one  can  be  truly  the  friend  of  God  and  not  be  agonized  in  view  of 
the  abominations  done  in  the  holy  city. 

This  then  is  the  sole  criterion  for  the  discrimination.  The  man 
with  the  inkhorn  asks  for  no  one's  professions,  or  claims,  or  hopes. 
He  asks  only  for  these  most  reliable  tests  of  the  heart — the  tears 
and  outcries  of  bitter  grief  by  which  those  whose  hearts  were  really 
with  God  must  indicate  the  anguish  they  feel  in  view  of  such  awful 
abominations.  Man  may  look  on  the  outward  appearance;  God 
looks  on  the  heart. 

5.  And  to  the  others  he  said  in  mine  hearing,  Go  ye 
after  him  through  the  city,  and  smite:  let  not  your  eye 
spare,  neither  have  ye  pity : 

6.  Slay  utterly  old  and  young,  both  maids,  and  little 
children,  and  women:  but  come  not  near  any  man  upon 
whom  is  the  mark ;  and  begin  at  my  sanctuary.  Then  they 
began  at  the  ancient  men  which  loere  before  the  house. 

7.  And  he  said  unto  them,  Defile  the  house,  and  fill  the 
courts  vv^ith  the  slain:  go  ye  forth.  And  they  went  forth, 
and  slew  in  the  city. 

The  destroyers  followed — did  not  precede — the  man  with  the  ink- 
horn. But  they  followed  close  behind  him.  They  spared  every 
man  who  bore  the  mark,  but  none  other.  Whoever  was  not  for 
God^  decidedly,  strongly,  with  his  real  heart — was  adjudged  to  be 
against  him,  and  was  cut  down  accordingly.  There  was  no  recog- 
nition of  any  neutral  class.  The  commissions  given  respectively  to 
the  man  who  marked  and  to  the  men  who  slew,  utterly  precluded 
the  possil)ility  of  any  neutrality  in  the  case.  The  men  who  did  not 
care  for  the  honor  of  God,  and  who  had  no  tears  to  shed  over  these 
abominations,  were  at  once  cut  down  as  God's  enemies.  No  matter 
how  civil  and  quiet  they  may  have  l)een ;  no  matter  how  much  they 
may  have  consulted  their  ease  or  their  personal  standing  and  in- 
fluence, or  any  other  form  of  personal  consideration;  if  they  did 
not  sigh  and  cry  over  the  utter  desecration  of  Jehovali's  name  and 
temple,  law  and  worship,  they  were  accounted  his  enemies  and  met 

their  doom  with  the  wicked. "Begin  at  my  sanctuary" — tliere 

where  the  nation's  sin  had  culminated  and  assumed  its  most  out- 
rageous and  horrid  forms, — there  let  judgment  begin.  Those  ''an- 
cient men"   were  obviously  the  Jewish   Council.     See  8:  11. 

Some  might  think  that  God  would  spare  his  temple  the  defilement 
of  this  scene  of  slaughter.  No,  indeed.  The  guilty  Jews  have  des- 
ecrated it  with  their  al)ominations :  let  it  be  cleansed  with  their 
blood.     The  Lord  accounts  it  no  defilement,  but  rather  a  cleansing 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  IX.  *       55 

by  means  of  righteous  retribution,  to  fill  the  courts  of  the  temple 
with  mangled  corpses  and  fresh  gore. 

8.  And  it  came  to  pass  while  they  were  slaying  them, 
and  I  was  left,  that  I  fell  upon  my  face,  and  cried,  and 
said,  Ah,  Lord  God!  wilt  thou  destroy  all  the  residue  of 
Israel  in  thy  pouring  out  of  thy  fury  upon  Jerusalem  ? 

9.  Then  said  he  unto  me,  The  iniquity  of  the  house  of 
Israel  and  Judali  is  exceeding  great,  and  the  land  is  full 
of  blood,  and  the  city  full  of  perverseness :  for  they  say, 
The  Lord  hath  forsaken  the  earth ;  and  the  Lord  seeth  not. 

10.  And  as  for  me  also,  mine  eye  shall  not  spare,  neither 
will  I  have  pity,  but  I  will  recompense  their  way  uj)on 
their  head. 

The  impulses  of  the  prophet's  humanity  and  love  for  his  country 
and  people  stand  out  here  with  beautiful  simplicity.  Seeming  to 
himself  to  stand  almost  alone,  one  living  man  among  the  heaps  of 
dead,  his  natural  thought  and  utterance  are,  "Ali,  my  God!  Wilt 
thou  destroy  the  whole  nation  ?    In  this  scene  of  retribution  on  the 

guilty  Jews,  are  there  none  at  all  to  be   spared?" The   Lord 

answers  that  their  iniquity  is  exceeding  great ;  that  the  land  is  full 
of  the  blood  of  personal  violence,  outrages  and  murders;  and  the 
city  full  of  perverseness — the  wresting  of  judgment,  the  violation  of 
every  personal  and  sacred  right — these  sinners  practically  saying, 
"There  is  no  God  here;  he  does  not  see  us;  he  has  gone  up  from 
the  earth."  See  8:  12.  Because  of  these  outrages  and  horrible 
abominations  and  immoralities,  the  Lord  must  give  scope  to  judg- 
ment without  mercy.     He  can  not  pardon;  he  must  not  spare. 

11.  And  behold,  the  man  clothed  with  linen,  which  had 
the  inkhorn  by  his  side,  reported  the  matter,  saying,  I  have 
done  as  thou  hast  commanded  me. 

The  man  with  the  inkliorn  reports  the  fulfillment  of  his  com- 
mission. It  is  not  intimated  that  the  men  with  slaughter-weapons 
made  any  report.  The  difierence  in  the  two  cases  indicates  the 
special  interest  felt  by  the  Lord  in  the  men  Avho  are  to  be  saved 
and  in  the  faithful  execution  of  his  commission  in  their  behalf. 
Judgment,  here  as  ever,  is  his  strange  work;  mercy,  his  delight. 
The  spirit  of  vengeance  does  not  for  one  moment  eclipse  his  love  for 
his  people,  or  abate  from  his  wakeful  and  never-waning  interest  in 

their  welfare. The  moral  force  of  this  entire  scene  is  of  the  very 

highest  order,  and  is  scarcely  surpassed  by  any  thing  found  in  the 
sacred  scriptures.  The  Jerusalem  of  that  age  represents  the  cor* 
rupt  church  of  God — the  case  of  his  chosen  people  when  fearfully 
apostate  from  God,  so  utterly  corrupt  indeed  that  the  Lord  can  spare 
no  longer,  but  turns  to  terrible  judgment.  One  of  the  points  of 
most  vital  significance  (as  already  shown)  is  the  principle  on  which 
the  discrimination  is  made  between  God's  friends  and  his  enemies. 


56  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  X. 

This  can  not  be  studied  too  carefully  or  with  too  much  close  and 
thorough  self-application.  How  many  on  this  principle  would  be 
spared  in  our  church  or  community?  Should  1  be  among  them? 
Judged  by  the  test  of  my  licart's  real  and  expressed  sympathy, 
should  1  have  my  place  with  God's  friends  or  his  foes? 


CHAPTER  X. 

This  chapter  is  a  continuation  of  the  same  vision.  The  scene 
presented  here  is  substantially  a  reappearance  of  that  recorded  in 
chap.  1.  The  glorious  iShckinah,  the  cherubim,  their  wings,  bodies, 
the  wheels  attending  them,  the  common  inspiration  that  moved  them 
all,  and  the  same  law  of  their  motion  directly  forward  without  turn- 
ing; these  are  the  leading  features  here  and  also  there.  This  de- 
scription differs  from  that  in  a  few  minor  points.  The  word  "  cherub  " 
here  answers  for  the  most  part  to  the  word  "living  creature"  there. 
Here  the  entire  number  of  cherubim  seem  to  constitute  one  "  living 
creature"  (vs.  15,  20).  The  "throne"  is  named  here,  only  in  v.  1. 
In  other  cases  the  "living  creature"  appears  directly  under  the  God 
of  Israel  (vs.  4,  19,  20). While  these  symbols  have  the  same  ob- 
jects as  those  of  chap.  1,  viz.,  to  impress  the  prophet's  mind  with 
the  unutterable  majesty  and  glory  of  the  God  of  Israel,  especially 
as  developed  in  his  providential  agencies  for  the  government  of  na- 
tions and  for  judgment  on  the  guilty,  they  have  each  their  specific 
differences.  The  scenes  of  chap.  1  were  specially  adapted  to  the 
inauguration  of  the  prophet  into  his  work.  Those  of  chap.  10  were 
adapted  to  the  purposes  of  this  vision  (chaps.  8-11),  particularly  to 
show  that  the  consuming  fire,  cast  upon  the  guilty  city  came  forth 
from  underneath  the  throne  of  God,  wielded  by  the  omnipotent 
agencies  which  underlie  that  moving  throne;  and  further,  to  show 
also  that  the  manifested  presence  of  the  glory  of  God  "was  preparing 

to  leave  his   long  occupied  place  in  the  sacred  temple. These 

general  remarks  comprise  most  of  the  explanations  which  this  chap- 
ter requires. 

1.  Then  I  looked,  and  behold,  in  the  firmament  that  ivas 
above  the  head  of  the  cherubims  there  appeared  over  them 
as  it  were  a  sapphire  stone,  and  the  appearance  of  the  like- 
ness of  a  throne. 

I  understand  this  passage  to  say  that  Avhat  seemed  to  be  a  throne 
was  brilliant  like  a  sappliire  stone  and  rested  on  the  firmament  which 
itself  reposed  on  the  heads  of  the  cherubim. 

2.  And  he  spake  unto  the  man  clothed  with  linen,  and 
said.  Go  in  between  the  wheels,  even  under  the  cherub,  and 
fill  thy  hand  with  coals  of  lire  from  between  the  cherubims, 


•EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  X.  57 

and  scatter  them  over  the  city.  And  he  went  in  in  my 
sight. 

The  throne  before  spoken  of  inplied  the  presence  of  the   king 

who  sat  upon  it,  who  now  accosts  the  man  clothed  in  linen. As 

already  intimated,  this  fire  taken  from  between  the  wheels  under- 
neath the  cherubim,  to  be  cast  upon  the  guilty  city,  indicated  that 
terrific  judgments  from  the  agencies  of  God's  providence  were  about 
to  consume  it.  It  is  a  significant  fact  that  the  executive  agent  here 
should  be  the  man  in  linen  who  in  chap.  9  has  no  other  function 
save  to  mark  in  their  foreheads  the  men  who  bewailed  the  abomi- 
nations of  the  guilty  people.  But  God  has  no  class  of  servants  too 
holy  or  sacred  to  act  as  his  agents,  if  need  be,  in  the  execution  of 
his  righteous  judgments.  It  certainly  corresponds  with  his  arrange- 
ments in  this  loorld  to  use  them  in  representing,  symbolizing  and 
setting  before  the  minds  of  the  people,  these  most  fearful  judgments. 
The  gospel  minister  who  wears  holy  linen  in  God's  temple  must  not 
shrink  from  proclaiming  to  the  wicked  both  their  guilt  and  their 
fiery  doom. 

3.  Now  the  cherubims  stood  on  the  right  side  of  the 
honse,  when  the  man  went  in;  and  the  cloud  filled  the 
inner  court. 

4.  Then  the  glory  of  the  Lord  went  up  from  the  cherub, 
and  stood  over  the  threshold  of  the  house;  and  the  house 
was  filled  with  the  cloud,  and  the  court  was  full  of  the 
brightness  of  the  Lord's  glory. 

5.  And  the  sound  of  the  cherubims'  wings  was  heard  even 
to  the  outer  court,  as  the  voice  of  the  Almighty  God  when 
he  speaketh. 

That  the  Shekinah  removed  from  his  usual  place  over  the  mercy- 
seat  and  stood  over  the  threshold  indicates  (as  said  in  notes  on  chap. 
9:  3)  that  he  was  preparing  to  depart  from  that  polluted  temple. 
It  may  also  have  been  a  more  appropriate  i^osition  from  which  to 

direct  and  observe  the  movements  then  at  hand. The  sublime 

and  impressive  sound  of  the  wings  of  the  cherubims  when  they 
moved  was  profiiihent  in  the  vision  of  chap.  1.     See  chap.  1 :  24,  25, 

6.  And  it  came  to  pass,  tliat  when  he  had  commanded 
the  man  clothed  with  linen,  saying.  Take  fire  from  between 
the  wheels,  from  between  the  cherubims;  then  he  went  in 
and  stood  beside  the  wheels. 

7.  And  one  cherub  stretched  forth  his  hand  from  between 
the  cherubims  unto  the  fire  that  was  between  the  cherubims, 
and  took  thereof,  and  put  it  into  the  hands  of  liim  that  ivas 
clothed  with  linen:  w^ho  took  it,  and  went  out. 

8.  And  there  appeared  in  the  cherubims  the  form  of  a 
man's  hand  under  their  wings. 


58  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  X! 

That  a  man  clothed  with  linen  should  take  both  hands  full  of  fire, 
unharmed,  would  be  a  most  impressive  symbol.  Nothint!;  is  incon- 
gruous in  dreams.  The  symbol,  however,  has  none  the  less  force 
because  the  thing  would  be  impossible  in  real  life. 

9.  And  when  I  looked,  behold  the  four  wheels  by  the 
cherubims,  one  Avheel  by  one  cherub,  and  another  wheel  by 
another  cherub :  and  the  appearance  of  the  Avheels  tvas  as 
the  color  of  beryl  stone. 

10.  And  as  for  their  appearances,  they  four  had  one  like- 
ness, as  if  a  wheel  had  been  in  the  midst  of  a  w^heel. 

11.  When  they  went,  they  went  vipon  their  four  sides; 
they  turned  not  as  they  went,  but  to  the  place  whither  the 
head  looked  they  followed  it ;  they  turned  not  as  they  went. 

12.  And  their  whole  body,  and  their  backs,  and  their 
hands,  and  their  wings,  and  tlie  w^heels,  were  full  of  eyes 
round  about,  even  the  wheels  that  they  four  had. 

13.  As  for  the  wheels,  it  was  cried  unto  them  in  my  hear- 
ing, O  wheel! 

14.  And  every  one  had  four  faces :  the  first  face  ivas  the 
face  of  a  cherub,  and  the  second  face  ivas  the  face  of  a  man, 
and  the  third  the  face  of  a  lion,  and  the  fourth  the  face  of 
an  eagle. 

15.  And  the  cherubims  were  lifted  up.  This  is  the  living 
creature  that  I  saw  by  the  river  of  Chebar. 

The  points  made  here  were  mostly  presented  in  chap.  1.  The 
cry,  "0  wheel!"  seems  intended  to  reco^iinize  them  as  inspired  with 
intelligence  and  consciousness — the  Spirit  of  God  dwelling  within 
them  and  energizing  all  their  activities.  This  view  is  given  also  in 
chapter  1.  The  clause  (vs.  1,  5),  "This  is  the  living  creature  that 
I  saw  by  the  river  Chebar,"  refers  to  the  scenes  of  the  first  chapter. 

16.  And  when  the  cherubims  went,  the  wheels  went  by 
them:  and  when  the  cherubims  lifted  up  their  wrings  to 
mount  up  from  the  earth,  the  same  wheels  also  turned  not 
from  beside  them. 

17.  When  they  stood,  these  stood;  and  when  they  were 
lifted  up,  these  lifted  up  themselves  also :  for  the  sj)irit  of 
the  living  creature  was  in  them. 

18.  Then  the  glory  of  the  Lord  departed  from  off  the 
threshold  of  the  house  and  stood  over  the  cherubims. 

19.  And  the  cherubims  lifted  up  their  wings,  and  mounted 
up  from  the  earth  in  my  sight:  when  they  w^nt  out,  the 
wheels  also  were  beside  them,  and  every  one  stood  at  the 
door  of  the  east  gate  of  the  Lord's  house  ;  and  the  glory  of 
the  God  of  Israel  was  over  them  above. 


EZEKIEL— CHAP.  XI. 


r)9 


20.  This  is  the  living  creature  that  I  saw  under  the  God 
of  Israel  by  the  river  of  Chebar ;  and  I  knew  that  they  were 
the  cherubims. 

21.  Every  one  had  four  faces  apiece,  and  every  one  four 
wings ;  and  the  likeness  of  the  hands  of  a  man  luas  under 
their  wings. 

22.  And  the  likeness  of  their  faces  luas  the  same  faces 
which  I  saw  by  the  river  of  Chebar,  their  appearances  and 
themselves :  they  went  every  one  straight  forward. 

These  points  have  been  before  us.  It  only  remains  to  suggest 
that  these  symbols  are  repeated  in  this  vision  of  judgments  on  Jeru- 
salem to  show  that  the  agencies  for  its  destruction  were  precisely 
those  which  were  symbolized  by  the  wonderful  phenomena  of  the 
moving  throne  of  God,  In  his  government  over  the  nations  of  men, 
God  wields  the  agencies  of  judgment  and  retribution  at  his  pleasure, 
with  resources  ineffably  vast  and  glorious.  0,  if  we  might  only  see 
them  with  unveiled  eye,  it  might  befall  us  as  it  befell  the  servant  of 
EHsha  when  his  master  prayed,  "Lord,  open  his  eyes  that  he  may 
see."  "And  the  Lord  opened  the  eyes  of  the  young  man  and  he 
saw,  and  behold,  the  mountain  was  full  of  horses  and  chariots  of 
fire  round  about  Elislia"  (2  Kings  6:  17). 


CHAPTER  XL 


This  chapter  continues  the  same  vision  and  brings  it  to  its  close. 

While  the  prophet  is  in  vision  at  Jerusalem,  he  sees  some  of 

the  princes  of  leading  influence  in  wickedness  and  is  directed  to 
prophesy  to  them.  While  doing  so,  one  of  them,  Pelatiah,  falls 
dead.  From  this  point,  the  strain  of  the  vision  changes.  In  answer 
to  the  prophet's  expostulation,  the  Lord  shows  him  that  although  the 
Jews  in  Jerusalem  are  proud,  exclusive,  and  hopelessly  hardened, 
yet  it  is  his  purpose  to  save  a  precious  remnant  from  among  the  ex- 
iles and  give  them  wholly  a  new  spirit  and  a  tender  heart.  With 
this,  the  \-ision  closes. 

1.  Moreover,  the  spirit  lifted  me  up,  and  brought  me 
unto  the  east  gate  of  the  Lord's  house,  which  looketh  east- 
ward: and  behold  at  the  door  of  the  gate  five  and  twenty 
men ;  among  whom  I  saw  Jaazaniah  the  son  of  Azur,  and 
Pelatiah  the  son  of  Benaiah,  princes  of  the  people. 

2.  Then  said  he  unto  me,  Son  of  man,  these  are  the  men 
that  devise  mischief,  and  give  wicked  counsel  in  this  city : 

3.  Which  say,  It  is  not  near;  let  us  build  houses:  this 
city  is  the  caldron,  and  we  be  the  flesh. 


60  .  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XI. 

A  new  scene  opens.  The  divine  Spirit  puts  the  prophet  into  a 
new  position  at  the  east  .iiatc  of  the  temple  where  he  sees  twenty- 
five  men  of  leading  influence,  among  whom  he  recognizes  and  names 
two  who  were  princes  among  the  people.  These  are  the  men  who 
had  seduced  the  people  into  deeper  sin,  perpetually  counteracting 
the  labors  of  the  Lord's  faithful  prophets.  V.  3  quotes  some  of  their 
language.  The  English  version  of  the  first  clause,  "It  is  not  near; 
let  us  build  houses,"  means,  The  judgments  threatened  against  us 
are  yet  far  remote ;  let  us  go  on  as  usual  in  the  pursuits  of  peaceful 
life.  The  original,  however,  presents  some  rather  serious  difficulties 
in  this  construction,  particularly  in  the  form  of  the  verl>  rendered, 
"Let  us  build,"  which  is  the  infinitive  construct.  A  different  view 
is,  therefore,  proposed,  thus :  "  The  time  for  building  houses  is  not 
near;  we  have  war  upon  us,  or  near  impending;  this  is  a  time  of 
calamity.  Let  us  meet  it  with  whatever  sacrifices  of  the  common 
comforts  of  life  may  be  necessary.  We  need  not  fear  being  ousted 
from  the  city.  This  city  is  to  us  the  caldron — the  pot  in  which  flesh 
is  boiled.     We  are  the  flesh.     As  the  flesh  remains  in  the  pot  as 

its  place  and  home,  so  shall  we  remain  in  this  city." The  latter 

of  these  two  constructions,  I,  on  the  whole,  prefer. The  figure  of 

the  pot  or  caldron  appears  again  somewhat  amplified  in  chap.  24. 
So  far  as  its  significance  is  developed  here,  it  obviously  meant  one 
thing  as  used  by  the  princes,  and  another  as  used  by  the  prophet. 
As  indicated  above,  they  used  it  only  in  a  good  sense — the  pot  mak- 
ing a  home  for  the  flesh  put  therein,  as  the  city  was  in  their  view  to 
be  the  home  for  its  population,  in  contradistinction  to  being  driven 

out  into  exile. The  prophet,  by  a  quick  turn,  plays  on  the  figure 

and  gives  it  a  new  significance.  The  city  is  indeed  (he  would  say) 
your  caldron,  and  ye  are  flesh,  in  it,  but  not  flesh  in  the  sense  of 
living  men  sheltered  in  a  peaceful  home,  but  in  a  sense  more  in 
keeping  with  the  figure — dead  flesh  put  into  the  pot  to  be  boiled 
thoroughly  and  then  brought  forth  for  another  form  of  destruction ! 

4.  Therefore  prophesy  against  them,  prophesy,  O  son  of 
man. 

5.  And  the  spirit  of  the  Lord  fell  upon  me,  and  said  unto 
me,  Speak ;  Thus  saith  the  Lord ;  Thus  have  ye  said,  O 
house  of  Israel :  for  I  know  the  things  that  come  into  your 
mind,  every  one  of  them. 

In  the  clause,  "The  things  that  come  up  into  your  mind,"  the 
prominent  Hebrew  word  seems  rather  to  mean,  the  aspirations ;  the 
high  and  raised  hopes  of  your  souls.  God  knew  how  full  they  were, 
of  vain  self-confidence. 

6.  Ye  have  multiplied  your  slain  in  this  city,  and  ye  have 
filled  the  streets  thereof  with  the  slain. 

7.  Therefore  thus  saith  the  Lord  God;  Your  slain  Avhom 
ye  have  laid  in  the  midst  of  it,  they  are  the  flesh,  and  this 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XI.  *61 

city  is  the  caldron:  but  I  will  bring  you  forth  out  of  the 
midst  of  it. 

8.  Ye  have  feared  the  sAVord;  and  I  will  bring  a  sword 
upon  you,  saith  the  Lord  God. 

9.  And  I  will .  bring  you  out  of  the  midst  thereof,  and 
deliver  you  into  the  hands  of  strangers,  and  will  execute 
judgments  among  you. 

10.  Ye  shall  fall  by  the  sword ;  I  will  judge  you  in  the 
border  of  Israel ;  and  ye  shall  knoAV  that  I  am  the  Lord. 

11.  This  city  shall  not  be  your  caldron,  neither  shall  ye 
be  the  flesh  in  the  midst  thereof;  but  I  will  judge  you  in 
the  border  of  Israel: 

12.  And  ye  shall  know  that  I  am  the  Lord :  for  ye  have 
not  walked  in  my  statutes,  neither  executed  my  judgments, 
but  have  done  after  the  manners  of  the  heathen  that  are 
round  about  you. 

It  fe  supposable  that  this  slaughter  was  then  yet  future  but  near 
and  thought  of  as  certain,  and  as  the  legitimate  fruit  of  their  per- 
nicious influence.  Hence  they  might  well  be  charged  with  the 
responsible  guilt  of  it. The  prophet  turns  their  figure  to  a  terri- 
ble significance.  The  heaps  of  slaughtered  men,  soon  to  fill  this 
city,  are  to  be  the  flesh,  held  by  this  city  as  a  caldron  holds  animal 
flesh.  The  living  God  will  bring  them  forth  out  of  this  city  into  a 
bitter  exile.  "The  hands  of  strangers"  will  bear  them  far  away. 
When  the  Lord  said  (v.  11),  "This  city  shall  7iot  be  your  cal- 
dron," etc.,  he  meant,  it  shall  not  be  so  in  your  sense  of  that  figure. 

For  they  would  surely  be  driven  out  of  their  city  and  land. "  I 

will  judge  you  in  the  border  of  Israel,"  implies  that  they  shall  be 
removed  from  the  city,  and  shall  meet  some  of  their  judgments 
on  the  borders  of  their  land.  This  may  allude  to  the  fact  that 
Zedekiah  and  many  of  his  princes  were  brought  to  trial  at  Eiblah, 
just  on  the  northern  border  of  Israel,  and  there  received  their  sen- 
tence and  doom  (Jer.  52:  8-11,  2G,  27).  The  reason  for  this  ter- 
rible doom  is  fitly  stated:  "For  ye  have  not  walked  in  my  statutes, 
neither  executed  my  judgments,  but  have  done  after  the  manner  of 
the  heathen." 

13.  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  I  prophesied,  that  Pelatiah 
the  son  of  Benaiah  died.  Then  fell  I  down  upon  my  face, 
and  cried  with  a  loud  voice,  and  said,  Ah  Lord  God !  wilt 
thou  make  a  full  end  of-  the  remnant  of  Israel  ? 

In  order  to  confirm  this  prophecy  to  the  people,  and  not  least,  to 
give  the  prophet  himself  an  impressive  sense  of  the  terrible  sig- 
nificance of  the  things  now  shown  to  him  and  announced  by  him, 
all  suddenly  while  heis  speaking,  Pelatiah  falls  dead !  The  prophet 
falls  on  his  face  and  cries  out,  "Ah,  Lord  God,  wilt  thou  make  a 
full  end  of  the  remnant  of  Israel?"     Shall  none  be  left?    Are  the 


62  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XL 

people  of  God  to  Ije  exterminated  and  no  seed  be  left  to  replant  the 

land,  and  rebuild  the  Zion  of  the  Lord  ? The  shock  of  such  an 

appalling  death  impresses  him  with  this  painful  fear,  to  which  the 
Lord  kindly  responds  in  the  verses  following. 

14.  Again  the  word  of  the  Lord  came  unto  me,  saying, 

15.  Sou  of  man,  thy  brethren,  even  thy  brethren,  the  men 
of  thy  kindred,  and  all  the  house  of  Israel  wholly  are  they 
unto  whom  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem  have  said.  Get  you 
from  the  Lord :  unto  us  is  this  land  given  in  possession. 

16.  Therefore  say,  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God;  Although  I 
have  cast  them  far  off  among  the  heathen,  and  although  I 
have  scattered  them  among  the  countries,  yet  will  I  be  to 
them  as  a  little  sanctuary  in  the  countries  where  they  shall 
come. 

The  import  of  v.  15  I  take  to  be  this:  The  people  now  remaining 
in  Jerusalem,  in  their  proud  exclusiveness  and  vain  self-confidence, 
are  saying  to  yourself,  to  your  relatives,  and  to  all  the  house  of 
Israel  who  are  with  you  in  your  present  exile  in  Chaldea,  '■''Be 
gone !  The  Lord  has  cast  you  out  of  his  city  and  far  away  from  his 
presence.  You  shall  have  no  part  any  more  in  this  city  or  in  the 
God  of  your  fathers.     The  city  and  land  are-  given  to  us  for  our 

permanent  possession." To  which  the  Lord  replies;  "Although 

I  have  cast  out  the  people  who  are  with  you  into  exile,  yet  I  will 
surely  befriend  them ;  will  bless  to  them  this  very  exile ;  and  will 
be  their  sanctuary  in  the  sense  of  refuge  in  the  countries  where 

they  shall  be." 1  prefer  to  construe  the  word  '■'■little^'  not  as 

meaning  small  applied  to  sanctuary^  but  as  meaning  short  in  refer- 
ence to  time^  indicating  that  for  a  little  time  he  will  reveal  himself 
as  their  refuge  and  help  in  this  foreign  land.  The  exile  ^should  be 
short.  Through  its  brief  duration  God  would  be  their  sanctuary. 
Although  they  were  cast  forth  from  the  outward  sanctuary  at  Jeru- 
salem, yet  God  would  be  their  real  sanctuary  in  their  exile.  His 
presence  was  infinitely  more  and  better  than  the  temple  walls  reared 
by  Solomon. Shortly  afterward,  the  prophet  sees  the  Lord  leav- 
ing the  earthly  temple  (v.  23). 

17.  Therefore  say.  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God ;  I  will  even 
gather  you  from  the  people,  and  assemble  you  out  of  the 
countries  where  ye  have  been  scattered,  and  I  will  give  you 
the  land  of  Israel. 

18.  And  they  shall  come  thither,  and  they  shall  take 
away  all  the  detestable  things  thereof  and  all  the  abomina- 
tions thereof  from  thence. 

19.  And  I  -will  give  them  one  heart,  and  I  will  put  a  new 
spirit  within  you ;  and  I  will  take  the  stony  heart  out  of 
their  flesh,  and  will  give  thein  an  heart  of  flesh : 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XI.  63 

20.  That  they  may  walk  in  my  statutes,  and  keep  mine 
ordinances,  and  do  them:  and  they  shall  be  my  people,  and 
I  will  be  their  God. 

The  Lord  will  bring  this  remnant  home  to  their  native  land. 
They  shall  exterminate  every  vestige  of  idolatry  and  put  away  all 
those  abominations  which  had  been  the  ruin  of  their  nation;  and 
to  crown  all,  God  will  give  them  "one  heart'' — not  a  heart  di- 
vided between  God  and  Satan — the  holy  temple  and  abominable 
idols;  but  one  hearty  true  and  pure;  and  "a  new  spirit,"  all 
unlike  what  they  had  before.  These  precious  promises,  clothed 
in  strong  but  plain  words,  reappear  somewhat  amplified  in  chap.  36. 
Their  rich  and  precious  significance  lies  in  the  point  that  the  Lord 
will  put  his  own  hand  to  the  work  of  their  thorough  reformation ; 
that  he  will  reach  their  very  hearts ;  that  he  will  radically  cure  their 
horrible  propensity  to  idolatry,  and  will  turn  their  heart  wholly  to 
himself.  So  turned  and  so  renewed  in  heart  and  spirit,  they  will 
walk  in  his  statutes  and  keep  his  ordinances  with  a  willing,  loving 
heart.  They  will  be  truly  the  Lord's  people,  and  the  Lord  himself 
will  be  their  God. Let  us  bless  the  God  of  love  for  such  prom- 
ises, and  pray  that  their  fullness  of  meaning  may  be  granted  in 

glorious  measure  to  his  Zion  of  these  latter  days. As  these  words 

stand  here,  their  first  installment  of  realization  must  be  assigned  to 
the  restoration  under  Zerubbabel; — their  first,  but  not  their  last. 
For,  beyond  a  question,  these  promises  in  their  ample  range  are 
Messianic,  and  pertain  to  the  gospel  age,  and  preeminently  to  those 
latter  times  of  tliis  age  when  "  all  shall  know  the  Lord  from  the  least 
to  the  greatest." 

21.  But  as  for  them  whose  heart  walketh  after  the  heart 
of  their  detestable  things  and  their  abominations,  I  will 
recompense  their  way  upon  their  own  heads,  saith  the  Lord 
God. 

Some  will  repel  the  divine  mercy,  and  will  still  walk  after  their 
detestable  idols.     All  such  must  receive  the  terribly  fearful  but  just 

retribution  of  God  upon  their  guilty  heads. It  was  of  the  utmost 

importance  for  its  moral  bearings  that  ^is  statement  should  be 
made,  fastening  on  every  man  his  own  responsibility  for  his  own 
moral  conduct.  Even  this  great  baptism  of  regenerating  mercy  and 
power  does*  not  shut  off  the  personal  agency  of  the  people.  Those 
who  thrust  God  away  and  vrill  "always  resist  the  Holy  Ghost," 
giving  their  heart  still  to  their  abominations,  must  perish  in  their 
sins. 

22.  Then  did  the  cherubims  lift  up  their  wings,  and  the 
wheels  beside  them;  and  the  glory. of  the  God  of  Israel  was 
over  them  above. 

23.  And  the  glory  of  the  Lord  went  up  from  the  midst 


64  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XII. 

of  the  city,  and  stood  upon  the  mountain  which  is  on  the 
cast  side  of  the  city. 

The  visible  divine  glory  now  leaves  the  city  and  rests  on  the 
moifntain  toward  the  east,  Mount  Olivet;  indicating  that  he  is  soon 
to  depart  and  leave  the  city  to  its  doom. 

24.  Afterward  the  S2:)irit  took  me  up,  and  brought  me  in 
a  vision  by  the  Spirit  of  God  into  Chaldea,  to  them  of  the 
captivity.     So  the  vision  that  I  had  seen  went  up  from  me. 

25.  Then  I  spake  unto  them  of  the  captivity  all  the 
things  that  the  Lord  had  shewed  me. 

The  scenes  of  the  vision  have  closed ;  the  prophet  is  consciously 
brought  back  to  Chaldea;  and  now  rehearses  to  the  people  in  exile 
there,  all  that  the  Lord  had  shown  him.  It  Avas  the  main  purpose 
in  placing  these  matters  in  vision  before  the  prophet  that  he  might 
present  them  to  the  people  then  in  exile.  The  points  made  in  the 
various  scenes  of  this  one  vision  were  all  of  them  intensely  vital  to 
their  moral  position — adapted  to  dissipate  their  vain  hopes  in  regard 
to  the  permanence  of  the  city,  to  impress  them  with  a  sense  of  its 
horrid  guilt,  and  to  show  them  that  God  had  designs  of  mercy  to- 
ward themselves,  if  only  they  would  turn  from  their  idols  and  give 
him  their  heart  undivided. 


CHAPTER  Xn. 


In  this  chapter  the  prophet  by  divine  direction  makes  himself  a 
suggestive  sign  of  the  people  going  into  captivity,  vs.  1-16 ;  cats  his 
bread  with  trembling  to  denote  the  terror  of  the  inhabitants  of  Jeru- 
salem and  Israel,  vs.  17-20;  and  rebukes  their  presumption  in 
assuming  that  the  predictions  of  judgments  borne  to  them  by  the 
prophets  referred  only  to  some  far-distant  time,  vs.  21-28. 

1.  The  word  of  the  Lord  also  came  unto  me,  saying, 

2.  Son  of  man,  thou  dwellest  in  the  midst  of  a  rebellious 
house,  which  have  eyes  to  see,  and  see  not ;  they  have  cars 
to  hear,  and  hear  not :  for  they  are  a  rebellious  house. 

It  is  implied  here  that  the  spirit  of  rebellion  blinded  the  people, 
becoming  a  perpetual  temptation  to  them  to  shut  their  eyes  and  re- 
fuse to  see  God  and  their  duty — to  hear  his  warnings  and  their 
doom.  They  might  see,  but  would  not.  This  is  the  precise  sense 
of  having  eyes  to  see,  but  yet  seeing  not.     Compare  Isa.  6 :  9,  and 

42:  20;  Mat.  13:  13-15,  and  Acts  28:  25-27. This  propensity  to 

eelf-blindness  is  adduced  here  as  a  reason  for  one  more  effort  to  put 
the  near  impending  captivity  of  Judah  and  Jerusalem  palpably  before 
the  eyes  of  the  exiles  in  Chaldea,  in  the  hope  that  so  they  will  b© 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XII.  65 

made  to  see  and  apprehend  it  as  true. It  is  well  here  to  note 

definitely  how  the  subject  matter  of  this  chapter  stands  related  on 
the  one  hand  to  the  exiles  among  whom  Ezekiel  was  living,  and  on 
the  other,  to  the  people  yet  remaining  in  Judah  and  Jerusalem  to 
whom  those  prophecies  referred  more  or  less  directly.  We  must 
assume  the  closest  sympathy  between  the  exiles  and  their  brethren 
yet  in  their  native  land.  The  exiles  clung  to  the  belief  that  the  city 
and  the  nation  were  safe,  and  that  they  themselves  were  soon  to 
return.  Now  there  was  practically  no  hope  of  their  being  brought 
to  repentance  till  these  illusions  were  dispelled.  Hence  these  varied 
and  persistent  efforts  of  the  Lord  through  Ezekiel  to  impress  the 
exiles  with  a  sense  of  the  incorrigible  wickedness,  the  damning 
guilt,  and  the  certain  and  near  impending  doom  of  the  holy  city 

and  of  the  people  of  Judah. Here  "the  rebellious  house"  (v.  2) 

is  primarily  the  body  of  the  exiles  among  whom  the  prophet  then 
lived.  This  significant  symbol  of  removing  into  captivity  was  placed 
before  them  in  order  to  make  a  strong  impression  on  their  mind. 
The  captivity  referred  to  was  that  of  Zedekiah,  then  king  of  Judah. 

In  like  manner,  the  prophet  (vs.  17-20)  eats  his  bread  with 

trembling  to  give  the  exiles  a  more  impressive  sense  of  the  condition 

of  the  people  of  Jerusalem  in  the  approaching  siege. The  proverb 

referred  to  (v.  22)  was  in  vogue  "in  the  land  of  Israel;''  but  its  re- 
buke and  refutation  were  immensely  needed  for  the  exiles  in  Chal- 
dea.  These  points  are  important  toward  a  clear  apprehension  of 
the  scope  of  this  chapter. 

3.  Therefore,  thou  son  of  man,  prepare  thee  stuff  for  re- 
moving, and  remove  by  day  in  their  sight;  and  thou  shalt 
remove  from  thy  place  to  another  place  in  their  sight ;  it 
may  be  they  "will  consider,  though  they  he  a  rebellious 
house. 

4.  Then  shalt  thou  bring  forth'  thy  stuif  by  day  in  their 
sight,  as  stuff  for  removing :  and  thou  shalt  go  forth  at  even 
in  their  sight,  as  they  that  go  forth  into  captivity. 

5.  Dig  thou  through  the  wall  in  their  sight,  and  carry 
out  thereby. 

6.  In  their  sight  shalt  thou  bear  it  upon  thy  shoulders, 
and  carry  it  forth  in  the  twilight :  thou  shalt  cover  thy  face, 
that  thou  see  not  the  ground :  for  I  have  set  thee  for  a  sign 
unto  the  house  of  Israel. 

7.  And  I  did  so  as  I  was  commanded :  I  brought  forth 
my  stuff  by  day,  as  stuff  for  captivity,  and  in  the  even  I 
digged  through  the  wall  w4th  my  hand ;  I  brought  it  forth 
in  the  twilight,  and  I  bare  it  upon  my  shoulder  in  their 
sight. 

This  is  not  a  thing  seen  in  vision,  but  a  thing  done  in  fact.  For 
the  prophet  is  commanded  to  do  it,  and  to  do  it  "  in  the  sight"  of  the 


66  EZEKlEL.— CHAP.  XII. 

people ;  and  he  testifies  that  he  did  do  it.  Its  symbolic  import  wag 
to  represent  the  going  forth  of  the  prince  and  people  of  Jerusalem 
from  their  city  into  captivity.  The  special  points  of  the  representa- 
tion were,  (1.)  Providing  for  himself  the  requisite  apparatus  for 
carrying  a  few  indispensable  things — his  knapsack  or  traveling 
bag — for  this  is  the  meaning  of  the  Hebrew  word  rendered  ^''  stuff ^' 
which  is  not  his  baggage,  but  his  bag — that  in  v^diich  he  carried  his 

baggage. ^-(2.)  He  was  to  go  out  of  his  house,  not  through  the 

door,  but  through  a  hole  which  he  dug  in  the  wall.  This  repre- 
sented the  mode  of  Zedekiah's  escape  from  the  city,  as  given  by 
Jeremiah  (chap.  39:  4);  "And  when  Zedekiah  the  king  of  Judah 
saw  them  (the  Chaldean  ofl&cers)  and  all  the  men  of  war  {i.  e.,  saw 
them  to  be  really  within  the  city)  then  they  fled  and  went  forth 
out  of  the  city  by  night  by  the  way  of  the  king's  garden,  between 
the  two  walls  (a  private  exit),  and  he  went  out  the  way  of  the 
plain."  This  corresponded  to  digging  through  the  wall  of  one's 
house  instead  of  going  out  at  the  door.     Compare  also  Jer.  52 :  7, 

and  2  Kings  25:  4-6. (3.)  He  was  to  go  out  by  night,  bearing 

his  valuables  on  his  shoulder.     This  corresponds  also  with  the  time 

of  Zedekiah's  flight. (4.)  He  covered  his  face  so  as  not  to  see 

the  ground,  to  indicate  the  bitter  grief  of  the  king  and  of  his  people 
when  at  last  their  hopes  were  crushed  and  they  were  compelled  to 
leave — he  his  throne  and  they  their  city  and  homes — for  the  doubt- 
ful chances  of  escape,  and  the  probable  doom  of  death  or  captivity. 
So  David,  fleeing  from  Absalom,  "  went  weeping  and  with  his  head 
covered"  (2  Sam.  15  :  30).  This  may  also  have  referred  to  the  fiict 
that  Zedekiah  had  his  eyes  put  out  at  Riblah  and  was  taken  blind 
as  well  as  bound  to  Babylon  (Jer.  39 :  7). 

8.  And  in  tlie  morning  came  the  word  of  the  Lord  unto 
me,  saying, 

9.  Son  of  man,  liath  not  the  house  of  Israel,  the  rebell- 
ious house,  said  unto  thee.  What  doest  thou  ? 

10.  Say  thou  unto  them.  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God,  This 
burden  concerneth  the  prince  in  Jerusalem,  and  all  the 
house  of  Israel  that  are  among  them. 

11.  Say  I  am  your  sign :  like  as  I  have  done,  so  sliall  it 
be  done  unto  them :  they  sliall  remove  and  go  into  captivity. 

Has  this  symbolic  and  strange  transaction  failed  to  excite  the 
attention  of  this  stupid,  self-blinded  people?  This  seems  to  be  the 
implication  in  this  question  v.  9.  But  if  so,  let  ns  still  persist  in 
the  effort  to  get  this  truth  into  their  mind.  Go  therefore  and  say 
unto  them,  "This  burden"  ^alwa3'S  a  prediction  of  calamity)  "refers 
to  the  king  in  Jerusalem'  (Zedekiah)  "and  to  all  the  house  of 
Israel  that  are  among  them" — the  house  of  Israel  being  the  people 
of  the  city,  and  the  wo.id  ^''  them"  among  whom  they  were,  referring 
perhaps  to  the  army  largely  drawn  from  other  parts  of  the  country. 
It  therefore  related  especially  to  the  king  and  his  army,  not  exclud- 
ing the  people  of  the  city  yet  surviving.     Ezekicl  is  accustomed  to 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XII.  67 

call  the  king  by  this  name,    "the  prince."  (See  chap.  7:  27,  and 

21 :  25. jBay  also,  "I  am  your  sign."     The  Lord  directed  me  to 

do  this  thing  to  represent  to  you  the  doom  of  Jerusalem,  and  of  its 
king  and  people.     They  are  destined  to  go  into  captivity. 

12.  And  the  prince  that  is  among  them  shall  bear  upon 
his  shoulder  in  the  twilight,  and  shall  go  forth :  they  shall 
dig  through  the  wall  to  carry  out  thereby :  he  shall  cover 
his  face,  that  he  see  not  the  ground  with  his  eyes. 

13.  My  net  also  will  I  spread  upon  him,  and  he  shall  be 
taken  in  my  snare :  and  I  Avill  bring  him  to  Babylon  to  the 
land  of  the  Chaldeans,  yet  shall  he  not  see  it,  though  he 
shall  die  there. 

14.  And  I  will  scatter  toward  every  wind  all  that  are 
about  him  to  help  him  and  all  his  bands ;  and  I  will  draw 
out  the  sword  after  them. 

15.  And  they  shall  know  that  I  am  the  Lord,  v/hen  I 
shall  scatter  them  among  the  nations,  and  disperse  them  in 
the  countries. 

The  symbol  was  to  have  its  precise  fulfillment  in  Zedekiah  who 
should  in  like  manner  bear  away  his  little  parcel  of  valuables ;  dig 
through  the  wall  for  a  private  exit,  and  go  away  in  the  sadness  ot 
his   grief  as  one   whose   face  is   covered  and  who   sees   not  the 

ground. Kemarkably  Ezekiel  makes   no  mention  of  Zedekiah' s 

loss  of  his  eyes,  and  gives  no  clue  to  explain  the  apparent  enigma 
of  his  being  brought  to  Babylon  and  dying  there,  yet  never  seeing 
it.  Jeremiah  solves  this  enigma  by  recording  that  the  king  of 
Babylon  put  out  his  eyes  at  Kiblah,  and  afterward  bound  him  with 
chains  to  carry  him  to  Babylon  (Jer.  39  :  7).  Ezekiel  had  no 
solicitude  to  make  out  the  truth  of  his  own  predictions  by  showing 

their  fulfillment. To  this  fact  of  his   not  seeing  Babylon,  the 

prophet's  going  forth  with  his  face  so  covered  that  he  saw  not  the 

ground,  seems  to  have  had  a  somewhat  special  reference. God 

did  scatter  his  army  widely,  first  over  the  country  of  Judah  and 
ultimately  into  E^ypt  and  elsewhere.  (See  Jer.  39 :  4,  5,  and  40 : 
7-10,  and  41 :  11-18,  and  chap.  42  :  44. 

16.  But  I  will  leave  a  few  men  of  them  from  the  sword, 
from  the  famine,  and  from  the  pestilence ;  that  they  may 
declare  all  their  abominations  among  the  heathen  whither 
they  come ;  and  they  shall  know  that  I  am  the  Lord. 

One  purpose  in  sparing  a  small  remnant  was  that  they  might 
testify  among  the  heathen  nations  that  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem 
and  Judah  was  a  judgment  from  God  for  their  great  sins  of  idol- 
worship.  They  might  bear  this  testimony  either  orally  and  pur- 
posely; or  indirectly  and  without  purpose,  by  what  was  apparent 
in  their  life  and  in  their  doom. 


68  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XII. 

17.  Moreover  the  word  of  the  Lord  come  to  me,  saying, 

18.  Son  of  man,  eat  thy  bread  with  quaking,  and  drink 
thy  water  with  trembling  and  with  carefulness ; 

19.  And  say  unto  the  peojole  of  the  land.  Thus  saith  the 
Lord  God  of  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem,  and  of  the  land 
of  Israel ;  They  shall  eat  their  bread  with  carefulness,  and 
drink  their  water  with  astonishment,  that  her  land  may  be 
desolate  from  all  that  is  therein,  because  of  the  violence  of 
all  them  that  dwell  therein. 

20.  And  the  cities  that  are  inhabited  shall  be  laid  waste, 
and  the  land  shall  be  desolate;  and  ye  shall  know  that  I 
am  the  Lord. 

This  too  was  a  symbolic  act.  The  prophet  was  to  eat  his  bread 
and  drink  his  water  with  manifest  perturbation,  as  one  trembling 
in  dread  of  some  dire  calamity.  This  the  Lord  himself  applies  to 
the  people  of  Jerusalem  and  of  the  land  of  Israel.  It  indicated 
the  terror  they  were  doomed  to  feel.  The  comprehensive  thing 
here  named  as  the  moral  cause  of  this  terror  is,  "the  violence  of 
all"  the  people  in  the  land.  So  God  sent  the  flood  because  "the 
earth  was  full  of  violence."  Assaults,  assassinations,  murders, 
were  rife — testifying  how  utterly  men  had  lost  the  fear  of  God  and 

cast  off  the  restraints  of  even  common  morality. But  here,  as 

ever,  men  shall  know  that  the  Lord  is  truly  God,  the  fearful  Judge 
and  Destroyer  of  the  wicked. 

21.  And  the  word  of  the  Lord  came  unto  me,  saying, 

22.  Son  of  man,  what  is  that  j)roverb  that  ye  have  in  the 
land  of  Israel,  saying.  The  days  are  prolonged,  and  every 
vision  faileth? 

23.  Tell  them  therefore,  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God :  I  will 
make  this  proverb  to  cease,  and  they  shall  no  more  use  it 
as  a  proverb  in  Israel ;  but  say  unto  them.  The  days  are  at 
hand,  and  the  effect  of  every  vision. 

24.  For  there  shall  be  no  more  any  vain  vision  nor  flat- 
tering divination  within  the  house  of  Israel. 

25.  For  I  am  the  Lord:  I  will  speak,  and  the  word  that 
I  shall  speak  shall  come  to  pass;  it  shall  be  no  more  pro- 
longed :  for  in  your  days,  O  rebellious  house,  will  I  say  the 
word,  and  will  perform  it,  saith  the  Lord  God. 

"Because  sentence  against  an  evil  work  is  not  executed  speedily, 
therefore  the  heart  of  the  sons  of  men  is  fully  set  in  them  to  do 
evil"  (Ec.  8:  11).  In  those  days  also,  "there  were  scoffers  who 
said,  Where  is  the  promise  of  his  coming?"  This  presumption 
manifested  itself  in  the  Israel  of  that  age.  It  had  even  passed  into 
a  proverb — so  commonly  AA%as  it  said  and  so  persistently  was  this 
delusion  cherished — that  the  days  of  predicted  evil  had  been  post- 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XII.  69 

poned  far  into  the  future,  and  every  vision  was  failing  as  to  any 

practical  application  to  the  generation  then  living. The  prophet 

is  commanded  to  confront  this  delusion  and  assure  the  people  that 
the  days  were  near  at  hand,  and  that  the  real  thing  predicted  in  every 
vision  would  soon  be  fulfilled.  The  word  "effect"  does  not  so  pre- 
cisely express  the  Hebrew  as  event — i.  e.,  the  fact  predicted  to  take 

place. The  Lord  would  soon  put  an  end  to  the  flattering  and 

false  predictions  of  the  prophets  by  astounding  the  people  with  the 
judgments  he  had  long  since  foretold.  He  says,  I  will  speak  and 
the  thing  shall  be  speedily  done  and  no  more  "prolonged,"  i.  e., 

postponed  or  delayed.- iSo  it  often  happens  that  wicked  m«n  cut 

short  the  period  of  God's  forbearance,  and  hasten  up  the  day  of 
swift,  inexorable  retribution  by  their  scofl&ng  and  their  abuse  of  his 
long  forbearance  and  delay.  Ah,  how  terribly  must  those  judg- 
ments fall  which  the  wicked  thus  madly  pluck  down  on  their  own 
guilty  heads !  As  if  they  were  weary  of  waiting  through  the  long 
period  in  which  God  waits  in  long-suflering  mercy  for  them  to 
repent!  Their  bold  and  scoffing  impiety  contemns  the  Almighty 
and  compels  him  to  close  the  period  of  his  sparing  mercy  suddenly, 
and  bid  Justice  do  its  work! 

26.  Again  the  word  of  the  Lord  came  to  me,  saying, 

27.  Son  of  man,  behold,  they  of  the  house  of  Israel  say, 
The  vision  that  he  seeth  is  for  many  days  to  come,  and  he 
prophesieth  of  the  times  that  are  far  off. 

28.  Therefore  say  unto  them.  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God ; 
There  shall  none  of  my  wor^s  be  prolonged  any  more,  but 
the  word  which  I  have  spoken  shall  be  done,  saith  the  Lord 
God. 

Essentially  the  same  thought  is  here  repeated.  They  say,  The 
prophet's  visions  are  ofttimes  far  remote;  but  God  responds;  None 
of  my  words  are  to  be  long  deferred ;   what  I  have  said  shall  be 

done  speedily. Let  no  man  trifle  with  the  threatened  judgments 

of  the  Almighty!  That  doom  which  overhangs  all  the  wicked  in 
the  world  to  come  may  break  all  suddenly,  and  O,  how  fearfully,  on 
the  head  of  any  one  of  the  proud  sinners  who  to-day  are  presuming 
it  will  come  only  in  the  far  distant  future,  and  joerhaps  never! 
Such  presumption  often  cuts  short  the  day  of  grace  which  God 
would  fain  prolong. 


70  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XIII. 


CHAPTER  Xm. 

In  this  chapter  the  Lord  rebukes  the  false  prophets,  vs.  1-16,  and 
the  false  prophetesses  vs.  17-23,  denouncing  wars  and  judgments 
upon  thcni,  and  pledging  himself  to  deliver  his  people  from  their 
pernicious  influence. 

1.  And  the  word  of  the  Lord  came  unto  me,  saying, 

2.  Son  of  man,  prophesy  against  the  prophets  of  Israel 
that  -prophesy,  and  say  thou  unto  them  that  prophesy  out 
of  their  own  hearts.  Hear  ye  the  word  of  the  Lord ; 

3.  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God ;  Wo  unto  the  foolish  proph- 
ets, that  follow  their  own  spirit,  and  have  seen  nothing! 

False  prophets  were  a  fearful  curse  to  the  people  in  this  corrupt 
age.  Jeremiah  had  occasion  to  expose  and  rebuke  their  devices  re- 
peatedly. See  Jer.  14:  13-16,  and  23:  9-40,  and  27  and  28.  It 
appears,  even  in  Jeremiah,  that  there  were  false  prophets  not  in 
Judea  only,  but  among  the  exiles  in  Chaldea.  See  Jer.  29 :  15-32 
and  notes  there.  Consequently,  they  withstood  Ezekiel's  influence 
in  Chaldea  as  they  had  Jeremiah's  in  Judea.  The  Lord,  therefore, 
most  pertinently  sends  them,  by  his  prophet,  this  caustic  and  scath- 
ing message. They  are  here  described  forcibly  and  truly  as  those 

who  prophesied  out  of  their  own  heart  and  not  from  God ;  following 
their  own  spirit,  and  not  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord ;  foolish  in  the  sense 
of  lying  and  impious ;  men  who  pretended  to  have  seen  visions  from 
God,  but  who  had  seen  nothing. 

4.  O  Israel,  thy  prophets  are  like  the  foxes  in  the  deserts. 

5.  Ye  have  not  gone  up  into  the  gaps,  neither  made  up 
the  hedge  for  the  house  of  Israel  to  stand  in  the  battle  in 
the  day  of  the  Lord. 

False  prophets  are  pertinently  compared  to  foxes,  since  Israel  was 
the  Lord's  vine,  and  "the  little  foxes  spoiled  the  vines"  (Cant.  2:  5); 
and  because  they  came  in  through  the  breaches  in  the  garden  Avail, 
and  the  rents  in  the  inclosing  hedge,  and  thus  djd  the  more  mis- 
chief because  of  these  weak  points  in  the  gardener's  means  of  pro- 
tection. They  never  set  themselves  to  repair  these  breaches,  as 
God's  true  shepherds  would  have  done;  but  they  either  perpetrate 
the  more  mischief,  or  slink  away  into  the  desert,  reckless  of  all  re- 
sponsibility for  repairing  the  vineyard  walls  and  hedges.  See  Ezek. 
22:  30.  "And  I  sought  for  a  man  among  them,  that  should  make 
up  the  hedge,  and  stand  in  the  gap  before  me  for  the  land,  that  I 

should  not  destroy  it:  but  I  found  none." In  v.  5  there  seems  to 

be  a  double  figure;  a  breach  in  the  inclosure  of  the  vineyard  as 
above  explained ;  and  a  breach  in  the  city  walls  through  which  the 
enemy  are  forcing  their  way  in  battle  in  the  day  of  the  Lord's 
vengeance  upon  the  city.  In  the  latter  emergency,  all  true  patriots 
rush  to  the  breach,  to  repair  it  if  possible,  or  at  least  to  confront  the 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XIII.  71 


foe  at  this  point  of  chief  peril.     These  false  prophets  had  no  such 

patriotism. A  change   of  person  as  from   "they,"  addressed  to 

"Israel,"  in  v.  4,  to  "ye,"  the  false  prophets  in  v.  5,  is  by  no  means 
uncommon  in  the  HebrcAV  writers. 

6.  They  have  seen  vanity  and  lying  divination,  saying, 
The  Lord  saith:  and  the  Lord  hath  not  sent  them:  and 
they  have  made  others  to  hope  that  they  would  confirm  the 
word. 

7.  Have  ye  not  seen  a  vain  vision,  and  have  ye  not 
spoken  a  lying  divination,  whereas  ye  say.  The  Lord  saith 
it ;  albeit  I  have  not  spoken  ? 

"Vanity,"  here,  (as  usual)  in  the  sense  of  Msehood.  They 
claimed  to  be  sent  of  God,  and  made  use  of  the  established  formula 
of  prophecy,  "the  Lord  saith;"  when  in  fact  the  Lord  had  said 
nothing  to  them  at  all.     Yet  they  made  some  of  the  people  believe 

them,  or  at  least  hope  that  their  words  would  prove  true. In  v.  7 

the  interrogative  repeats  the  thought  in  a  stronger  form,  appealing 
to  themselves  to  say  if  this  charge  of  lying  were  not  true. 

8.  Therefore  thus  saith  the  Lord  God;  Because  ye  have 
spoken  vanity,  and  seen  lies,  therefore,  behold,  I  am  against 
you,  saith  the  Lord  God. 

9.  And  my  hand  shall  be  upon  the  prophets  that  see  van- 
ity, and  that  divine  lies :  they  shall  not  be  in  the  assembly 
of  my  people,  neither  shall  they  be  written  in  the  writing 
of  the  house  of  Israel,  neither  shall  they  enter  into  the  land 
of  Israel ;  and  ye  shall  know  that  I  am  the  Lord  God. 

Because  of  this  great  sin,  the  Lord  declares  himself  committed 
against  them  for  their  destruction.  They  shall  not  be  counted  in 
the  assemblies  of  God's  people,  but  shall  be  excommunicated,  cut 
off  utterly,  never  more  to  have   any  portion  in  the   land   of  the 

Lord. "Written  in  the  writing  of  the  house  of  Israel,"  means, 

having  their  names  stand  in  the  register  of  his  people,  with  allusion 
to  the  early  Hebrew  practice  of  keeping  a  genealogical  list  of  all  the 
tribes,  families,  and  souls,  that  belonged  to  the  nation.     Extracts 

from  this  register  appear  repeatedly,  e.  g.^1  Chron.  chapters  1-9. 

When  God  should  fulfill  this  threatening,  they  would  know  that  he  is 
truly  God,  faithful  to  his  word  and  mighty  in  resources  to  fulfill  all 
he  ever  threatens. 

10.  Because,  even  because  they  have  seduced  my  people, 
saying,  Peace ;  and  there  was  no  peace :  and  one  built  up  a 
wall,  and  lo,  others  daubed  it  with  unterapered  mortar: 

11.  Say  unto  them  which  daub  it  with  untempered  mor- 
tar-, that  it  shall  fall:  there  shall  be  an  overflowing  shower; 
and  ye,  O  great  hailstones,  shall  fall;  and  a  stormy  wind 
shall  rend  it. 


72  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XIII. 

12.  Lo,  when  the  wall  is  fallen,  shall  it  not  be  said  unto 
you,  Where  is  the  daubing  wherewith  ye  have  daubed  it^ 

13.  Therefore  thus  saith  the  Lord  God;  I  will  even  rend 
it  with  a  stormy  wind  in  my  fury ;  and  there  shall  be  an 
overflowing  shower  in  mine  anger,  and  great  hailstones  in 
my  fury  to  consume  it 

14.  So  will  I  break  down  the  Avail  that  ye  have  daubed 
with  untempered  mortar,  and  bring  it  down  to  the  ground, 
so  that  the  foundation  thereof  shall  be  discovered,  and  it 
shall  fall,  and  ye  shall  be  consumed  in  the  midst  thereof: 
and  ye  shall  know  that  I  am  the  Lord. 

15.  Thus  will  I  accomplish  my  wrath  upon  the  wall,  and 
upon  them  that  have  daubed  it  with  untempered  mortar, 
and  will  say  unto  you,  The  wall  is  no  more,  neither  they 
that  daubed  it; 

16.  To  ivit,  the  prophets  of  Israel  which  prophesy  con- 
cerning Jerusalem,  and  which  see  visions  of  peace  for  her, 
and  there  is  no  peace,  saith  the  Lord' God. 

The  false  prophets  seduced  the  people  by  promising  them  peace 
from  God  when  God  had  not  promised  peace,  but  had  predicted 

ruin. The  figure  of  a  wall,  built  up  and  plastered  with  Avorthless 

mortar,  looks  somewhat  to  the  similar  allusion  in  v.  5.  The  false 
prophets  did  not  rush  into  the  deadly  breach  and  breast  the  foe 
there,  nor  did  they  labor  to  close  up  the  rent  hedge;  but  they  did 
build  up  a  miserable  wall  of  protection  for  the  people  and  plaster  it 
with  mortar  that  had  no  cohesive  power ;  in  other  Avords,  their  lies 
allayed  those  fears  of  the  people  which  God  sought  to  arouse,  and 
also  inspired  hopes  of  peace  which  God  sought  to  dispel,  that  he 

might  press  them  to  look  to  himself  alone  for  refuge. ^A  "wall" 

should  naturally  be  a  symbol  of  strength  and  protection — here, 
against  the  judgments  with  which  God  had  threatened  the  nation. 
The  figure  of  the  worthless  wall  and  its  treacherous  mortar  is  car- 
ried out  fully.  It  shall  surely  fall.  The  Lord  Avill  overAvhelm  it 
with  terrific  showers,  great  hailstones,  and  a  furious  Avind ;  its  very 
foundations  shall  be  laid  bare,  and  its  builders  (even  all  these  false 
prophets)  shall  be  utterly  consumed  under  its  iniins — for  v,  16  is  en- 
tirely explicit  in  applying  this  figure. 

17.  Likewise,  thou  son  of  man,  set  thy  fiicc  against  the 
daughters  of  thy  people,  Avhich  prophesy  out  of  their  OAvn 
hear.t ;  and  prophesy  thou  against  them, 

18.  And  say,  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God  ;  Woe  to  the  women 
that  sew  pilloAVS  to  all  arm-holes,  and  make  kerchiefs  upon 
the  head  of  every  stature  to  hunt  souls !  Will  ye  hunt  the 
souls  of  my  people,  and  Avill  ye  save  the  souls  alive  that 
come  unto  you  ? 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XIII.  73 

19.  And  will  ye  pollute  me  among  my  people  for  hand- 
fuls  of  barley  and  for  pieces  of  bread,  to  slay  the  souls  that 
should  not  die,  and  to  save  the  souls  alive  that  should  not 
live,  by  your  lying  to  my  people  that  hear  your  lies  ? 

Some  Tvomen  also  as  well  as  men  were  guilty  of  this  horrible  sin 
of  lying  prophecy  to  deceive  souls  to  their  ruin.  To  such  the  re- 
mainder of  the   chapter  relates. The  figures   which  represent 

their  seductive  influence  belong  to  their  sex,  being  drawn  from 
thfcgs  which  women  manufacture.  The  male  prophets  are  builders  of 
walls ;  the  female  sew  pillows,  cushions,  quilts ;  providing  every  lux- 
ury in  that  line  to  allure  people  away  from  God  and  into  deeper  sin. 

The  word  rendered  "  arm-holes '   clearly  means  the  finger-joints. 

Pillows  for  the  head  are  not  deemed  extravagant;  but  cushions  for 
the  elbows  savor  of  luxury,  and  much  more  pillows  for  every  finger- 
joint.     The  prophet  intended  to  make  a  strong  case  of  effeminacy. 

"The  head  of  every  stature"   means  the  heads  of  people  of 

every  height,  boys  and  men  of  all  ages.  By  "kerchiefs"  our  trans- 
lators probably  meant  head-coverings.  The  original  word  favors  the 
sense  of  quilt,  mattress,  or  spread.  In  the  clause  rendered  "  upon 
the  head,"  perhaps  the  thought  may  be  that  they  are  large  and  long 
enough  to  cover  the  entire  person,  however  tall,  even  to  the  head. 
The  general  sense  is,  who  provide  luxuries  for  the  tastes  of  the 
people  and  use  their  feminine  skill  to  ensnare  souls. By  yet  an- 
other special  figure,  they  are  thought  of  as  hunters  of  game,  mean- 
ing however,  hunters  of  human  souls,  to  kill  those  whom  they  should 

let  live,  and  to  promise  life  to  those  whom  God  woald  destroy. 

In  the  last  clause  of  v.  18,  the  words  "that  come"  have  no  cor- 
responding words  in  the  original.  The  sense  of  the  clause  seems  to 
be,  Will  ye  save  souls  alive  for  yourselves — for  the  sake  merely  of 

your  own  personal  interests? V.  19  shows  that  they  dishonored 

God  and  recklessly  profaned  his  name  and  word  (this  is  the  sense 
of  the  Hebrew  word  for  "pollute")  for  the  sake  of  gifts  and  bribes 
of  barley  and  bread.  For  a  consideration  so  small  and  so  purely 
selfish,  they  would  predict  ruin  to  the  righteous,  but  life  to  the 
wicked.  For  they  are  said  to  slay  or  to  spare  those  whom  their  in- 
fluence tended  or  their  purpose  sought  to  slay  or  to  spare.  See  the 
same  use  of  language  Jer.  1 :  10. 

20.  Wherefore  thus  saith  the  Lord  God;  Behold,  I  am 
against  your  pillows,  wherewith  ye  there  hunt  the  souls  to 
make  them  fly,  and  I  will  tear  them  from  your  arms,  and 
will  let  the  souls  go,  even  the  souls-  that  ye  hunt  to  make 
iJiem  fly. 

21.  Your  kerchiefs  also  will  I  tear,  and  deliver  my  peo- 
ple out  of  your  hand,  and  they  shall  be  no  more  in  your 
hand  to  be  hunted ;  and  ye  shall  know  that  I  am  the  Lord. 

22.  Because  with  lies  ye  have  made  the  heart  of  the 
righteous  sad,  whom  I  have  not  made  sad;    and  strength- 

4 


74  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XIV. 

en  eel  the  hands  of  the  wicked,  that  he  should  not  return 
from  his  wicked  way,  hy  promising  him  life  : 

23.  Therefore  ye  shall  see  no  more  vanity,  nor  divine  div- 
inations :  for  I  will  deliver  my  people  out  of  your  hand  : 
and  ye  shall  know  that  I  am  the  Lord. 

God  is  utterly  against  these  female  deceivers  also,  and  dooms 
them  to  ruin  and  their  efforts  to  failure,  in  terms  adapted  to  their 

sex  and  to  their  influence. In  the  clause  v.  20,  "hunt  souls  to 

make  them  fly,"  Gcsenius  gives  the  sense,  "hunt  souls  after  the 
manner  of  hunting  birds — as  men  hunt  the  flying  ones.  This  re- 
lieves the  incongruity  of  the  idea  of  hunting  animals  to  make  them 

fly. V.  22  interprets  the  figures  above  used  into  literal  language. 

These  prophetesses  had  made  the  heart  of  the  righteous  sad,  as  God 
did  not,  and  as  they  should  not;  and  on  the  other  hand,  they  had 
strengthened  the  heart  of  the  wicked  in  his  sins  by  promising  him 
life  however  wicked — as  God  would  not,  never  does,  and  can  not 

bear  to  have  lying  prophetesses  do. A  word  of  warning  to  men 

who  fail  to  discriminate  between  those  who  serve  God  and  those 
who  serve  him  not — to  men  who  promise  peace  to  the  wicked  for 
whom  God  has  no  pfiace  here  or  hereafter.  It  is  indeed  a  fearful 
crime  against  both  God  and  man  to  mar  the  thrcatenings  of  his  holy 
word  and  fritter  away  their  solemn  significance !  AYhen  God  in  in- 
finite love  would  fain  warn  the  wicked  of  his  danger  and  press  him 
to  escape  for  his  life  from  the  doom  that  awaits  him,  it  is  awful  that 
men  or  women  either  should  interpose  their  lies  to  foster  hopes  that 
God  would  fain  destroy,  and  to  comfort  souls  in  sin  whom  God 
would  arouse  by  fear  of  damnation  to  flee  from  the  wrath  to  come  I 

It  was  a  fearfully  solemn  responsibility  assumed  by  those  h'ifig 

men  and  women  in  Ezekiel's  day,  when  they  sought  thus  to  thwart 
the  benevolent  efforts  of  the  great  and  holy  God.  No  less  solemn 
to-day  is  the  responsibility  assumed  by  men  who  abate  from  the 
doom  threatened  against  all  persistent  sinners  and  encourage  men 
to  make  the  most  of  sinful  pleasures  while  they  can,  till  the  day  of 
mercy  ends  aU  suddenly  in  the  night  of  eternal  death ! 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Again  certain  of  the  elders  of  Israel  come  and  sit  before  the 
prophet,  and  the  Lord  gives  him  another  message  in  continuation 
of  the  subject  of  the  previous  chapter.  The  Lord  will  not  let  men 
come  to  him  asking  favors,  with  their  idols  enthroned  in  their 
hearts.  If  they  do,  he  will  answer  them  according  to  their  idols 
and  abominations.  If  they  seduce  a  prophet  to  inquire  of  the  Lord 
for  them,  God  will  let  that  prophet  be  deceived  and  then  deceive 
those  who  try  in  this  way  to  make  use  of  his  prophetic  functions. 
The  only  right  thing  a  guilty  people  can  do  is  to  repent  of  their  sina 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XIV.  75 

and  put  away  all  their  abominations. Another  turn  is  given  to 

this  leading  thought  in  vs.  12-21.  If,  for  the  great  v^^ickedness  of 
the  land,  God  shall  send  upon  them  his  sore  judgments,  he  will  not 
be  entreated  in  their  behalf.  Though  even  those  great  and  good 
men,  distinguished  as  intercessors  high  in  favor  with  God,  Noah, 
Daniel,  and  Job,  were  in  it,  they  should  save  their  own  souls  only. 
Their  prayers  or  their  presence  could  not  save  so  wicked  a  people. 
Such  is  the  scope  of  the  chapter. 

1.  Then  came  certain  of  the  elders  of  Israel  unto  me,  and 
sat  before  me. 

2.  And  the  word  of  the  Lord  came  unto  me,  saying, 

3.  Son  of  man,  these  men  have  set  up  their  idols  in  their 
heart,  and  put  the  stumbling-block  of  their  iniquity  before 
their  face :  should  I  be  inquired  of  at  all  by  them  ? 

"Then  came,"  etc.  This  seems  to  have  been  shortly  after  the 
prophecy  narrated  in  the  previous  chapter.  This  chapter  and  that 
are  closely  connected  in  thought.  That  denunciation  of  the  false 
prophets  may  have  made  some  impression  upon  certain  of  the  elders, 
and  they  may  have  been  consequently  in  an  attitude  to  listen  to 
something  further  on  the  same  and  kindred  points.  The  language, 
"these  men,"   etc.,  somewhat  strongly  implies  a  reference  to  the 

elders  then  before  him. "To  set  up  their  idols  in  their  hearts," 

is  precisely  to  enthrone  them  there — to  give  them  a  standing,  a 
fixed  position  in  their  very  heart  as  in  a  temple  prepared  for  the 
purpose. "Stumbling-block"  is  used  here  in  the  sense  of  temp- 
tation to  sin,  put  directly  before  their  own  face,  so  that  it  shall  have 

its  greatest  power  to  ensnare  and  thus  destroy  their  own  souls. 

"WTiile  they  are  in  this  moral  state,  God  asks,  "  Shall  I  be  inquired 
of  at  all  by  them?"     Of  course  he  will  not  be. 

4.  Therefore  speak  unto  them,  and  say  unto  them,  Thus 
saith  the  Lord  God ;  Every  man  of  the  house  of  Israel 
that  setteth  up  his  idols  in  his  heart,  and  putteth  the  stum- 
bling-block of  his  iniquity  before  his  face,  and  cometh  to  the 
prophet ;  I  the  Lord  will  answer  him  that  cometh  according 
to  the  multitude  of  his  idols. 

5.  That  I  may  take  the  house  of  Israel  in  their  own  heart, 
because  they  are  all  estranged  from  me  through  their  idols. 

If  such  a  man  shall  go  to  a  prophet  to  engage  him  to  intercede  for 
himself  with  God,  God  will  answer  him  through  that  prophet  accord- 
ing to  his  sins;  that  is,  will  give  him  no  such  answer  as  he  de- 
sires; but  will  let  him  be  deceived  to  his  ruin. In  v.  5,  "That  I 

may  take,''  etc.,  means,  that  I  may  take  hold  violently  and  effectually 
of  their  heart ;  i.  e. ,  by  spurning  them  away  and  visiting  them  with 
sore  judgments,  grasping  their  heart  so  that  they  shall  feel  it — tak- 
ing hold,  not  to  restore  or  to  comfort,  but  to  chasten  or  punish. 


76  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XIV. 

This  construction,  both  the  general  sense  of  the  verb  and  the  de- 
mands of  the  context  combine  to  require  and  sustain. 

6.  Therefore  say  unto  the  house  of  Israel,  Thus  saith  the 
Lord  God;  Repent,  and  turn  yourselves  from  your  idols ;  and 
turn  away  your  faces  from  all  your  abominations. 

"Therefore  say"  this — that  there  is  no  evading  this  manifest  and 
imperative  duty  of  repentance.  Seeking  God  with  your  abomina- 
tions still  in  power  in  your  hearts  can  be  of  no  avail  save  to  curse 
you  the  more  fearfully.  The  eflbrt  to  reach  God  through  his  proph- 
ets by  seducing  them  to  your  aid  will  only  involve  those  wicked 
prophets  as  well  as  yourself  in  deception  and  calamity.  "  Therefore 
say  to  the  house  of  Israel,  Repent  and  turn  from  all  your  idols;" 
"turn  away  your  faces  from  all  your  abominations.'  This  last 
phrase  refers  to  vs.  3,  4,  where  they  are  said  to  have  set  their  idols 
in  their  heart  and  before  their  face — of  course  With  their  face  to- 
ward those  idols. This  is  one  application  of  the  universal  truth 

that  sinners  can  never  find  any  relief  or  real  good  save  through  re- 
pentance. 

7.  For  every  one  of  the  house  of  Israel,  or  of  the  stranger 
tliat  sojourneth  in  Israel,  which  separateth  himself  from  me, 
and  settetli  up  his  idols  in  his  heart,  and  putteth  the  stum- 
bling-block of  his  iniquity  before  his  face,  and  cometh  to  a 
prophet  to  inquire  of  him  concerning  me;  I  the  Lord  will 
answer  him  by  myself: 

8.  And  I  will  set  my  face  against  that  man,  and  will 
make  him  a  sign  and  a  proverb,  and  I  will  cut  him  off  from 
the  midst  of  my  people;  and  ye  shall  know  that  I  am  the 
Lord. 

The  meaning  of  these  verses  is  plain  and  has  been  already 
brought  out.  Whether  the  inquirer  be  an  Israelite  or  a  foreigner, 
if  he  sever  himself  from  God  and  give  his  heart  to  idols,  and  then 
shall  go  to  a  prophet  to  learn  something  respecting  God,  or  to  gain 
some  favor  from  God  {e.  g.^  like  king  Saul  in  his  distress),  God  "will 

answer  him  in  his  own  way  and  for  his  own  righteous  ends. In 

V.  8,  the  Hebrew  verb  rendered  '"'■loill  make"  "him  a  sigTi  and  a 
proverb,"  involves  a  critical  question  respecting  the  true"  reading. 
Our  translators  adopted  the  more  easy  reading,  which  certainly  har- 
monizes well  with  the  context  and  with  the  usual  phraseology  of  the 
prophet.  Others,  in  deference  to  the  rule,  "  Follow  the  more  diffi- 
cult reading,"  make  it  from  another  root,  in  the  sense,  "I  will 
destroy  him  for  a  sign  and  a  proverb."  The  ultimate  meaning  is 
essentially  the  same — as  happens  in  a  great  majority  of  cases  where 
the  original  text  is  doubtful. 

9.  And  if  the  prophet  be  deceived  when  he  hath  spoken  a 
tiling,  I  the  Lord  have  deceived  that  prophet,  and  I  will 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XIV.  77 

stretch  out  my  hand  upon  him,  and  will  destroy  him  from 
the  midst  of  my  people  Israel. 

10.  And  they  shall  bear  the  punishment  of  their  iniquity : 
the  punishment  of  the  prophet  shall  be  even  as  the  jDunish- 
ment  of  him  that  seeketh  unto  him; 

11.  That  the  house  of  Israel  may  go  no  more  astray  from 
me,  neither  be  polluted  any  more  with  all  their  transgres- 
sions ;  but  that  they  may  be  my  people,  and  I  may  be  their 
God,  saith  the  Lord  God. 

What  is  said  here  afifords  no  good  reason  for  impugning  the  jus- 
tice or  even  the  goodness  of  God.  All  candid  minds"  will  see  this 
if  they  carefully  consider  and  duly  appreciate  these  three  points : 
( 1 . )  That  the  case  supposed  is  that  of  a  wicked  man,  seducing  and 
bribing  a  prophet  to  give  him  a  favorable  answer  from  God,  while 
he  yet  cleaves  to  his  sins.  God  declares  that  he  will  not  be  tam- 
pered with  by  a  wicked  man  for  so  vile  a  purpose.  He  will  let  both 
the  prophet  and  the  sinner  who  tries  to  bribe  him  be  deceived  and 

ruined. (2.)  No  other  form  of  divine  agency  need  be  implied 

here  than  what  is  properly  permissive.  God  will  let  that  prophet  be 
deceived.  He  will  leave  him  to  make  mistakes — leave  him  in  the 
darkness  of  his  own  perverse  heart.  God  will  not  reveal  truth  to 
his  mind;  will  not  help  him  carry  out  the  wicfeed  purpose  and  de- 
sire of  the  sinner  who  has  bribed  him  to  try  to  extort  something 
from  God  for  his  own  selfish  advantage.  The  usage  of  all  Scripture, 
and  indeed  of  all  human  language,  sustains  this  construction.  God 
is  said  to  do  what  he  only  suffers  or  permits  to  be  done.  And  in  this 
case,  who  can  say  that  God  does  not  most  righteously  and  justly 

leave  the  sinner  to  be  frustrated  in  his  impious  purpose  ? (3. )  The 

divine  intent  in  this  proceeding  is  infinitely  wise  and  good.  As  de- 
clared by  himself  in  this  very  connection,  it  is  "that  the  house  of 
Israel  may  go  no  more  astray  from  me,  neither  be  polluted  any  more 
with  all  their  transgressions ;  but  that  they  may  be  my  people,  and 
I  may  be  their  God."  The  Lord  frustrates  the  counsels  of  the 
wicked  and  bafiles  their  vile  schemes  to  overreach  himself,  for  the 
very  purpose  of  reducing  to  the  lowest  possible  amount  the  good 
they  may  find  in  sin,  that  so  he  may  press  them  with  the  strongest 
possible  motives  to  repent  and  seek  their  good  in  the  Lord  their 
God.  And  who  shall  say  that  this  is  not  altogether  right;  nay 
more,  infinitely  good  and  glorious  ?  How  else  should  the  Lord  deal 
with  the  wicked  in  a  world  of  moral  probation  like  this  ?  Hoav  bet- 
ter than  so  could  he  restrain  them  in  their  wickedness  and  press 
them  to  turn  to  obedience  ? 

12.  The  word  of  the  Lord  came  again  to  me,  saying, 

13.  Son  of  man,  when  the  land  sinneth  against  me  by 
trespassing  grievously,  then  will  I  stretch  out  my  hand  upon 
it,  and  will  break  the  staff  of  the  bread  thereof,  and  will  send 
famine  upon  it,  and  will  cut  off  man  and  beast  from  it. 


78  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XIV. 

14.  Though  these  three  men,  Noah,  Daniel,  and  Job,  were 
in  it,  they  should  deliver  hut  their  own  souls  by  their  right- 
eousness, saith  the  Lord  God. 

15.  If  I  cau>^e  noisome  beasts  to  pass  through  the  land, 
and  they  spoil  it,  so  that  it  be  desolate,  that  no  man  may 
pass  through  because  of  the  beasts : 

16.  Though  these  three  men  u'ere  in  it,  as  I  live,  saith 
the  Lord  God,  they  shall  deliver  neither  sons  nor  daugh- 
ters ;  they  only  shall  be  delivered,  but  the  land  shall  be 
desolate. 

17.  Or  ifl  bring  a  sword  upon  that  land,  and  say.  Sword, 
go  through  the  land ;  so  that  I  cut  off  man  and  beast  from 
it: 

18.  Though  these  three  men  ivere  in  it,  as  I  live,  saith 
the  Lord  God,  they  shall  deliver  neither  sons  nor  daugh- 
ters, but  they  only  shall  be  delivered  themselves. 

19.  Or  if  I  send  a  pestilence  into  that  land,  and  pour 
out  my  fury  upon  it  in  blood,  to  cut  off  from  it  man  and 
beast : 

20.  Though  Noah,  Daniel,  and  Job,  icere  in  it,  as  I  live, 
saith  the  Lord  God,  they  shall  deliver  neither  son  nor 
daughter ;  they  shall  but  deliver  their  own  souls  by  their 
righteousness. 

21.  For  thus  saith  the  Lord  God;  How  much  more  when 
I  send  my  four  sore  judgments  upon  Jerusalem,  the  sword, 
and  the  famine,  and  the  noisome  beast,  and  the  pestilence, 
to  cut  off  from  it  man  and  beast? 

The  fearful  truth  involved  here  is  that  when  the  sins  of  a  people 
imperatively  demand  the  visitations  of  divine  judgment,  God  will 
not  hear  the  intercessory  prayer  of  even  good  men  in  their  behalf 

and  so  reverse  his  purpose  of  judgment The  points  of  this  case 

aro  made  entirely  phiin.  It  is  presented  for  the  most  part  as  a  case 
supposed  in  a  hypothetical  way.  //any  kind  should  become  grievously 
Avicked,  beyond  the  divine  endurance,  then  would  I  scourge  them 
with  my  four  great  and  sore  judgments:  famine;  destructive  beasts; 
the  sword  of  war;  and  pestilence; — and  then,  though  these  three 
men,  preeminent  for  tlieir  availing  intercession,  viz.,  Noah,  Daniel, 
and  Job,  were  in  that  land,  they  should  save  themselves  only;  they 
could  not  save  that  land  from  my  judgments.  Tliey  could  not  save 
from  any  one  of  these  forms  of  judgment  coming  singly: — how  much 

less  from  all  combined? Of  the  godly  men  named   here,  the 

reader  will  recall  in  the  case  of  Noah  the  fact  that  God  forewarned 
him  of  the  flood  one  hundred  and  twenty  years  before  it  came, 
during  which  time  we  may  suppose  that  his  prayers  were  unceas- 
ing that  the  Lord  would  defer  this  judgment  and  spare  the  guilty 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XIV.  79 

race.  So  far,  "the  long.-suifermg  of  God  did  wait  in  the  days  of 
Noah"  (1  Pet.  3 :  20),  and,  no  doubt,  in  answer  to  his  prayer.    Good 

men  in  such  circumstances  always  pray. Job  prayed  for  his 

three  friends,  and  the  Lord  accepted  his  prayer  and  blessed  both 

them  and  him  therefor.     Job  42:   8,  10. Daniel's  remarkable 

prayer  for  the  restoration  of  his  people  as  recorded  chap.  9  had 
not  yet  transpired ;  but  Daniel  was  already  a  praying  man ;  already 
bore  his  people  continually  on  his  heart;  was  known  to  God  as  a 
prominent  intercessor,  and  probably  was  known  in  that  respect 
among  the  exiles  in  Chaldea.     His  influence  among  them  became 

great  at  a  very  early  period  of  his  life  and  of  their  exile. If  we 

date  this  prophecy  in  the  sixth  year  of  Jehoiachin's  captivity, 
Daniel  had  then  been  in  Chaldea  fully  fourteen  years,  and  in 
power  at  the  court  of  the  king,  thirteen.  This  reference  to  him 
was  not  necessarily  prophetic — in  anticipation  of  his  future  devel- 
opments. 

Let  us  turn  to  the  broad  fact  that  the  sins  of  the  Jewish  people 
had  become  such  that  God  could  not  pardon,  but  must  punish.  So 
he  had  said  of  the  sins  of  Manasseh  (2  Kings  24 :  4).  Kepeatedly 
through  Jeremiah  the  Lord  had  signified  that  he  could  not  hear 
prayer  in  their  behalf  to  turn  from  his  purposed  judgments.  See 
Jer.  7:  16,  and  11:  14,  and  14:  11,  12,  and  not  least,  15:  1. 
"Though  Moses  and  Samuel  stood  before  me"  {i.  e.,  as  interces- 
sors), "yet  my  mind  could  not  be  toward  this  people;  cast  them 

out  of  my  sight  and  let  them  go  forth." Fearful  is  the  doom 

that  awaits  either  a  nation  or  an  individual  when  the  point  is 
reached  where  prayer  avails  nothing!  Let  the  guilty  who  are 
thoughtlessly  hardening  their  heart  in  sin  consider  and  take  warn- 
ing !  There  is  a  limit  beyond  which  men  abuse  the  mercy  of  God 
to  their  certain  destruction.  It  can  not  be  well  to  reach  and  pass 
that  limit.  The  only  safe  course  is  to  desist  from  sin  and  turn  to 
God  at  once  while  yet  mercy  is  possible. 

22.  Yet  behold,  therein  shall  be  left  a  remnant  that  shall 
be  brought  forth,  both  sons  and  daughters :  behold,  they  shall 
come  forth  unto  you,  and  ye  shall  see  their  way  and  their 
doings:  and  ye  shall  be  comforted  concerning  the  evil  that 
I  have  brought  upon  Jerusalem,  even  concerning  all  that  I 
have  brought  upon  it. 

23.  And  they  shall  comfort  you,  when  ye  see  their  ways 
and  their  doings:  and  ye  shall  know  that  I  have  not  done 
without  cause  all  that  I  have  done  in  it,  saith  the  Lord 
God. 

The  thought  here  is  that  God  would  yet  save  a  remnant  out  of 
this  last  final  wreck  of  the  nation  at  the  fiill  of  Jerusalem,  and 
that  this  remnant  should  be  brought,  captives,  to  Babylon,  and 
there  join  the  captives  previously  brought  out,  among  whom  Ezek- 
iel  was  then  living  and  prophesying.     He  says  to  these  elders  now 


80  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XV. 

before  him ;  When  ye  see  this  last  company  of  captives,  and  learn 
from  personal  observation  the  horrible  corruption  of  their  hearts 
and  lives,  ye  will  be  comforted  concerning  the  evil  which  God  has 
brought  on  Jerusalem,  for  ye  will  see  that  it  must  have  been  richly 
deserved,  and  that  God  did  not  scourge  that  city  to  its  utter  de- 
struction without  good  cause.  If  they  had  felt  any  misgiving  in 
view  of  a  judgment  so  terrible,  they  would  surely  see  in  the  char- 
acter of  the  captives  that  God  had  amply  justifying  cause  for  the 

severity  of  those  judgments. It  is  a  comfort  to  the  people  of 

God  to  see  that  his  most  terrible  judgments  are  not  excessive  or  in 
any  wise  unduly  severe.  The  Lord  is  careful  to  show  his  confiding 
people  'that  whatever  else  he  may  do,  he  never  can  punish  too  se- 
verely. He  may  punish  less  than  man's-  iniquities  deserve;  but 
never,  more. 


CHAPTER  XV. 


1.  And  the  Avord  of  the  Lord  came  unto  me,  saying, 

2.  Son  of  man.  What  is  the  vine-tree  more  than  any  tree, 
or  than  a  branch  which  is  among  the  trees  of  the  forest  ? 

3.  Shall  Avood  be  taken  thereof  to  do  any  work  ?  or  will 
men  take  a  j)in  of  it  to  hang  any  vessel  thereon  ? 

4.  Behold,  it  is  cast  into  the  fire  for  fuel ;  the  fire  de- 
voureth  both  the  ends  of  it,  and  the  midst  of  it  is  burned. 
Is  it  meet  for  amj  work? 

5.  Behold,  when  it  w^as  whole,  it  was  meet  for  no  work  : 
how  much  less  shall  it  be  meet  yet  for  any  work,  when  the 
fire  hath  devoured  it,  and  it  is  burned  ? 

6.  Therefore  thus  saith  the  Lord  God;  As  the  vine-tree 
among  the  trees  of  the  forest,  which  I  have  given  to  the  fire 
for  fuel,  so  wdll  I  give  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem. 

7.  And  I  will  set  my  face  against  them  ;  they  shall  go  out 
from  one  fire,  and  another  fire  shall  devour  them;  and  ye 
shall  know  that  I  am  the  Lord,  when  I  set  my  face  against 
them. 

8.  And  I  will  make  the  land  desolate,  because  they  have 
committed  a  trespass,  saith  the  Lord  God. 

This  short  chapter  makes  but  one  point  and  makes  that  plainly. 
Jerusalem  and  Israel  had  often  been  thought  and  spoken  of  as  a 
vine  under  the  culture  of  their  own  God.  See  Isa.  5 :  1-7,  and  27 :  2, 
and  Jer.  2:  21,  and  Ps.  80:  8-lG.  But  now  she  has  altogether 
ceased  to  bring  forth  grapes,  h^he  bears  no  fruits  of  holiness ;  ren- 
ders to  God  no  acceptable  service. The  phrase  (v.  8),  "  commit- 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XVI.  81 

ted  a  trespass,"  is  not  said  of  some  trivial  sin,  but  of  des])erate 
wickedness ;  most  grievous  sin.     The  phrase  means,  they  have  been 

shamefully  treacherous. Wliat  then  is  she  good  for?     What  is 

a  vine-tree  good  for  when  it  has  ceased  to  bring  forth  grapes  ?  Can 
the  wood  of  it  be  wrought  into  any  work  of  utility  or  of  art  ?    Is  it 

even  fit  to  make  a  pin,  i.  e.,  a  peg  to  hang  vessels  upon? The 

oriental  tent  made  great  use  of  these  projecting  pegs  for  hanging 
up  household  utensils.  See  Isa.  22 :  23-25  where  the  same  Hebrew 
word  used  here  is  rendered  "nail."  The  wood  of  the  vine  was  too 
slender  for  tent  -nails  or  pins.  It  might,  however,  answer  to  burn 
for  fuel.  It  was  used  for  this  purpose,  and  was  fit  for  nothing  else. 
So  of  the  people  of  Jerusalem.  They  might  serve  as  an  example. to 
illustrate  God's  justice  in  punishing  the  incorrigibly  guilty.  They 
might  answer  some  useful  purpose  to  burn  up.  To  this  purpose  the 
Lord  would  consign  them  and  would  lay  their  land  utterly  deso- 
late.  A  fearfurtruth  is  this,  as  applied  to  all  sinners  who  will 

bear  no  fruit  of  obedience  and  love  to  God ;  from  whom  he  can  ex- 
tract no  other  service  in  his  universe  save  to  make  them  an  ex- 
ample of  his  righteous  justice  in  their  damnation!  Actively,  of 
their  free  will  and  honest  intent,  they  will  do  nothing  for  God,  or 
for  his  creatures  and  the  general  good:  hence,  passively,  by  sufier- 
ing,  and  against  their  will,  the  Lord  will  turn  them  to  the  only 
good  account  possible  in  their  case,  and  make  them  fuel  for  his  jus- 
tice to  burn — a  living,  eternal  testimony  before  the  universe  to  his 
holy  and  intense  abhorrence  of  rebellion.  They  shall  know,  and 
all  intelligent  beings  in  God's  kingdom  shall  learn  in  their  case  that 
he  is  the  Lord  God' Omnipotent,  holy  and  righteous  for  evermore ! 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

-  This  chapter  embraces  one  general  theme — the  idolatry  of  Jeru- 
salem, set  forth  in  vivid,  glaring,  appalling  colors  under  the  figure 
common  to  the  prophets,  by  which  idolatry  is  thought  of  as  adul- 
tery. The  key-note  is  struck  in  v.  2 :  "  Cause  Jerusalem  to  know 
her  abominations."  Set  them  before  her  eyes  in  forms  and  figures 
so  expressive  that  she  can  not  but  see  them,  and  so  sickening  that, 
seeing,  she  can  not  fiiil  to  loathe  and  abhor  herself  for  all  she 
has  done. ^Let  us  also  bear  in  mind  that  this  expose  of  Jerusa- 
lem is  made  before  the  exiles  in  Chaldea  to  show  them  how  right- 
eously that  city  is  about  to  suffer  utter  destruction;  to  impress  them 
with  the  enormity  of  their  great  national  sin,  in  which  themselves 
were  deeply  guilty;  and  to  urge  them  to  deep  self-condemnation  and 
bitter  repentance. 

1.  Again  the  word  of  the  Lord  came  unto  me,  saying, 

2.  Son  of  man,  cause  Jerusalem  to  know  her  abomina- 
tions, 


82  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XVI. 

» 

3.  And  say,  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God  unto  Jerusalem; 
Thy  birth  and  thy  nativity  is  of  the  land  of  Canaan ;  thy 
father  ivas  an  Amorite,  and  thy  mother  a  Hittite. 

No  one  will  take  this  allusion  to  her  "birth  and  nativity"  in  the 
literal  sense.  Men  and  nations  are  spoken  of  as  the  children  of 
those  whose  ways  they  follow,  as  our  Lord  accosted  the  Pharisees; 
"Ye  generation  of  vipers"  (Matt.  23:  33),  and  "Ye  are  of  your 
father  the  devil"  (John  8:  44).     Isaiah  (chap.  1:  10)  addresses  the 

Jews  as  "rulers  of  Sodom  and  people  of  Gomorrah." This  was 

the  more  caustic  and  cutting  because  of  the  haughty  scorn  with 
which  the  Jews  looked  on  those  Canaanites,  and  especially  the  Am- 
orite and  the  Hittite.  They  are  not  unfrequently  named  as  chief  in 
guilt  and  baseness.  See  Gen.  15  :  16,  and  24:  3,  and  26:  34,  35,  and 
27:  46;  Amos  2:  9;  1  Kings  21:  26,  and  2  Kings  21:  11.  ITie 
general  contempt  felt  by  the  Jews  for  the  Canaanites,  may  be  seen 
in  such  passages  as  Hos.  12:  7  and  Zech.  14:  21.  In  the  New 
Testament  age,  Jew  scorned  Galilean  with  the  same  national  feeling. 
Hence  the  pungency  of  the  rebuke,  "  Thy  father  was  an  Amorite 
and  thy  mother  a  Hittite.  Thy  spirit  shows  thy  parentage  to  be 
utterly  base. 

4.  And  as  for  thy  nativity,  in  the  day  thou  wast  born 
thy  navel  was  not  cut,  neither  wast  thou  washed  in  water 
to  supple  thee;  thou  wast  not  salted  at  all,  nor  swaddled 
at  all. 

5.  None  eye  pitied  thee,  to  do  any  of  these  unto  thee,  to 
have  compassion  upon  thee;  but  thou  -svast  cast  out  in  the 
open  field,  to  the  loathing  of  thy  person,  in  the  day  that 
thou  wast  born. 

This  is  the  early  history  of  the  Hebrews  as  they  were  pass- 
ing from  a  small  family  to  a  populous  nation,  specially  in  their 
Egyptian  life.     Outcast,  friendless,  as  an  infant  cast  forth  uucared 

for  upon  the  cold,  waste  world — so  Avas  Israel  in  that  age. The 

word  rendered  "supple,"  the  older  critics  read,  "to  cleanse;"  the 
modern  (Gesenius)  "to  make  tit  to  be  seen;"  to  prepare  for  pre- 
sentation  to  parents   and  friends;    from  a  verb  which   means,  to 

see. "To  the  loathing  of  thy  person,"  Gesenius  reads,  "To  the 

loathing  of  thyself;"   "to  thine  own  self-loathing" — virtually  drop- 

{ling  the  figure  of  the  infant.  Others,  bettor;  to  be  an  object  of 
oathing  to  all;  as  our  received  translation  implies. 

6.  And  when  I  passed  by  thee,  and  saw  thee  polluted  in 
thine  own  blood,  I  said  unto  thee  when  thou  ivast  in  thy 
blood,  Live ;  yea,  I  said  unto  thee  when  thou  wast  in  thy 
blood.  Live. 

7.  I  have  caused  thee  to  multiply  as  the  bud  of  the  field, 
and  thou  hast  increased  and  waxen  great,  and  thou  art  come 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XVI.  83 

to  excellent  ornaments :  thy  breasts  are  fashioned,  and  thy 
hair  is  grown,  whereas  thou  ivast  naked  and  bare. 

8.  Now  when  I  passed  by  thee,  and  looked  upon  th-ee,  be- 
hold, thy  time  ivas  the  time  of  love ;  and  I  spread  my  skirt 
over  thee,  and  covered  thy  nakedness:  yea,  I  sware  unto 
thee,  and  entered  into  a  covenant  with  thee,  saith  the  Lord 
God,  and  thou  becamest  mine. 

9.  Then  washed  I  thee  with  water:  yea,  I  thoroughly 
washed  away  thy  blood  from  thee,  and  I  anointed  thee  with 
oil. 

10.  I  clothed  thee  also  with  broidered  work,  and  shod  thee 
with  badgers'  skin,  and  I  girded  thee  about  with  fine  linen, 
and  I  covered  thee  with  silk. 

11.  I  decked  thee  also  with  ornaments,  and  I  put  bracelets 
uj)on  thy  hands,  and  a  chain  on  thy  neck. 

12.  And  I  put  a  jewel  on  thy  forehead,  and  ear-rings  in 
thine  ears,  and  a  beautiful  crown  upon  thine  head. 

13.  Thus  wast  thou  decked  with  gold  and  silver  ;  and  thy 
raiment  was  of  fine  linen,  and  silk,  and  broidered  w^ork ;  thou 
didst  eat  fine  flour  and  honey,  and  oil :  and  thou  wast  ex- 
ceeding beautiful,  and  thou  didst  prosper  into  a  kingdom. 

14.  And  thy  renown  went  forth  among  the  heathen  for 
thy  beauty :  for  it  was  perfect  through  my  comeliness,  which 
I  had  put  upon  thee,  saith  the  Lord  God. 

These  figures  are  plain  and  refer  manifestly  to  the  early  develop- 
ment of  the  religious  life  and  of  the  national  strength  and  wealth 
of  the  Hebrew  people  in  the  wilderness  and  in  Canaan.  God's  first 
interposition  broke  the  yoke  of  Pharaoh  and  brought  them  forth 
from  their  national  bondage.  Then  he  entered  into  the  solemn  mar- 
riage covenant  with  them,  and  they  became  truly  and  avowedly  his 
own  people.  The  entire  book  of  Exodus  is  a  special  comment  on 
these  verses. In  v.  6  the  original  word  is  not  precisely  "pol- 
luted,"   but   rather   trodden   under  foot — indicating  their   state   in 

Egypt. The   announcement,    "Live,"    is   solemnly  repeated   for 

emphasis.  It  was  this  majestic  and  paternal  voice  which  restored 
their  national  life,  when  else  they  had  died  nationally  under  Egyp- 
tian servitude. The  reader  will  not  fail  to  note  that  this  setting 

forth  of  God's  loving  kindness  to  the  nation  in  its  birth  and  youth 
is  intended  to  show  (and  does)  how  deeply  indebted  the  Hebrew 
nation  were  to  their  own  covenant  God,  and  hence,  how  intensely 
flagrant,  mean  and  wicked  was  their  apostasy  from  their  own  God 
to  idols ;  their  spiritual  adultery. 

15.  But  thou  didst  trust  in  thine  own  beauty,  and  playedst 
the  harlot  because  of  thy  renown,  and  pouredst  out  thy  for- 
nications on  every  one  that  passed  by ;  his  it  was. 


84  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XVI. 

The  clause,  "playedst  the  harlot  because  of  thy  renown,"  was  sup- 
posed by  our  translators  to  mean  that  under  the  influence  of  national 
pride,  the  Hebrews  departed  from  God  and  fell  into  idolatry.  But 
the  original  may  (perhaps  better)  be  read.  Thou  didst  commit 
whoredom  against  or  despite  of  thy  name;  i.  e.,  the  name  of  thy 
husband,  the  living  God.  Despite  of  thy  solemn  marriage  covenant 
with  Jehovah  in  which  thou  didst  assume  the  name,  the  people  of 
God,  thou  didst  give  up  thy  heart  and  thyself  to  idols. 

16.  And  of  thy  garments  thou  didst  take,  and  deckedst 
thy  high  places  with  divers  colors,-  and  playedst  the  harlot 
thereupon:  the  like  things  shall  not  come,  neither  shall  it 
be  so. 

17.  Thou  hast  also  taken  thy  fair  jewels  of  my  gold  and 
of  my  silver,  which  I  had  given  thee,  and  madest  to  thyself 
images  of  men,  and  didst  commit  whoredom  with  them. 

18.  And  tookest  thy  broidered  garments,  and  coveredst 
them :  and  thou  hast  set  mine  oil  and  mine  incense  before 
them. 

19.  My  meat  also  which  I  gave  thee,  fine  flour,  and  oil, 
and  honey,  ivhereivith  I  fed  thee,  thou  hast  even  set  it  before 
them  for  a  sweet  savor:  and  thus  it  was,  saith  the  Lord 
God. 

The  wealth  and  abundance,  but  especially  the  gold  and  silver 
which  God  had  given  them,  they  had  used  in  the  manufacture  of 
idols ;  to  deck  them  also  with  ornaments  and  provide  costly  offerings 

at  their  shrines.     See  the  same  thought  in  Hos.  2 :  8,  13. This 

is  the  very  thing  that  wicked  men  do  in  all  ages — take  the  good 
gifts  of  God's  providence  and  make  them  into  idol  gods  for  their 
own  hearts  to  love  and  to  trust ;  let  the  earthly  good  Avhich  God 
gives  them  be  a  power,  not  to  lead  their  hearts  to  God  in  grateful 
love,  trust,  and  obedience,  but  to  lead  their  hearts  utterly  nwnj  froin 
God  into  loAver  sensual  gratifications,  utter  forgetfulness  of  God,  and 
more  reckless  sinning. 

20.  Moreover,  thou  hast  taken  thy  sons  and  thy  daugh- 
ters, whom  thou  hast  borne  unto  me,  and  these  hast  thou 
sacrificed  unto  them  to  be  devoured.  Is  this  of  thy  whore- 
doms a  small  matter, 

21.  That  thou  hast  slain  my  children,  and  delivered  them 
to  cause  them  to  pass  through  the  fire  for  them? 

Was  this  crime  of  thy  whoredom  in  making  and  serving  other 
gods  too  small  a  thing  to  satisfy  thy  wicked  heart,  that  thou 
shouldst  needs  go  on  to  more  horrid  guilt,  and  burn  thine  own  sons 
and  daughters  in  the  fire  to  these  cruel  idols  ?  With  equal  force 
and  beauty,  the  Lord  says,  "Thou  hast  slain  nv/  children" — as  if 
his  parental  heart  yearned  over  the  innocent  little  ones  hurled  bj 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XVI.  85 

their  unnatural  fathers  and  mothers  into  the  deadly  fire  to  Moloch 
and  Saturn! 

22.  And  in  all  thine  abominations  and  thy  Avhoredoms 
thou  hast  not  remembered  the  days  of  thy  youth,  when  thou 
wast  naked  and  bare,  and  wast  polluted  in  thy  blood. 

It  had  aggravated  her  guilt  all  along  that  she  would  not  suitably 
remember  the  goodness  of  her  God  manifested  toward  her  in  the 
early  days  of  her  national  life.  In  this  chapter  (vs.  4-14)  the  Lord 
has  been  pressing  this  urgently  upon  her  attention.  This  was  the 
burden  of  many  an  earnest  exhortation  from  the  Lord  through 
Moses  and  the  prophets.  See  Deut.  8 :  2,  and  5  :  15,  and  15 :  15, 
and  16:  12,  and  24:  18,  22.  She  did  not  love  to  remember  how 
abject  and  forlorn  she  was  in  the  day  when  the  mercy  of  the  Lord 
met  her  in  Egypt. So  sinners  are  slow  and  reluctant  to  remem- 
ber the  special  favors  shown  them  by  that  Great  Benefactor  whose 
name  they  revile,  whose  law  they  discard,  and  whose  love  to  them 
they  will  not  think  of  requiting  with  responsive  love  in  return. 

23.  And  it  came  to  pass,  after  all  thy  wickedness,  (woe, 
woe  unto  thee !  saitli  the  Lord  God,) 

24.  That  thou  hast  also  built  unto  thee  an  eminent  place, 
and  hast  made  thee  a  high  place  in  every  street. 

25.  Thou  hast  built  thy  high  place  at  every  head  of  the 
way,  and  hast  made  thy  beauty  to  be  abhorred,  and  hast 
opened  thy  feet  to  every  one  that  passed  by,  and  multiplied 
thy  whoredoms. 

The  reader  will  the  better  appreciate  the  force  of  this  description 
of  the  painfully  loathsome  abominations  of  Jerusalem,  if  it  be  sug- 
gested that  the  word  used  by  Ezekiel  for  '  eminent  place  "  (vs.  24, 

31)  means  a  brothel. "High  places"   look  to  the  general  fact 

that  high  grounds  were  selected  for  the  rites  of  idolatry. Without 

discussing  the  propriety  of  such  minute  allusions  and  "great  plain- 
ness of  speech"  in  regard  to  lewdness  as  we  find  in  this  chapter 
and  elsewhere  in  the  Scriptures,  let  it  suffice  to  say;  (1.)  That  the 
taste  of  oriental  writers  and  readers  must  not  be  judged  by  our 
standard:  and  (2.)  That  in  deference  to  the  sensibilities  of  our  own 
times,  in  which  both  the  writer  and  his  readers  are  presumed  to 
participate,  he  will  feel  himself  excused  from  minute  comment,  and 
will  explain  only  so  far  as  may  be  requisite  to  give  the  ultimate 
moral  bearing  of  the  chapter. 

26.  Thou  hast  also  committed  fornications  with  the  Egyp- 
tians thy  neighbors,  great  of  flesh;  and  hast  increased  thy 
whoredoms,  to  provoke  me  to  anger. 

27.  Behold,  therefore  I  have  stretched  out  my  hand  over 
thee,  and  have  diminished  thine  ordinary  food,  and  delivered 


86  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XVI. 

thee  unto  the  will  of  them  that  hate  thee,  the  daughters  of 
the  Philistines,  which  are  ashamed  of  thy  lewd  way. 

28.  Thou  hast  played  the  whore  also  with  the  Assyrians, 
because  thou  wast  unsatiable ;  yea,  thou  hast  played  the  har- 
lot with  them,  and  yet  couldst  not  be  satisfied. 

29.  Thou  hast  moreover  multi2)lied  thy  fornication  in  the 
land  of  Canaan  unto  Chaldea ;  and  yet  thou  wast  not  satis- 
fied herewith. 

In  fact  the  Jews  had  sought,  borrowed,  and  worshiped  the  idol 
gods  of  Egypt,  of  Assyria,  and  even  of  Chaldea.  Her  spirit  of  idol- 
atry seemed  indeed  insatiable. 

30.  How  weak  is  thy  heart,  saith  the  Lord  God,  seeing 
thou  doest  all  these  things,  the  work  of  an  imperious  whorish 
woman ; 

31.  In  that  thou  buildest  thine  eminent  place  in  the  head 
of  every  way,  and  makest  thy  high  place  in  every  street; 
and  hast  not  been  as  a  harlot,  in  that  thou  scornest  hire; 

32.  But  as  a  wife  that  committeth  adultery  ivhich  taketh 
strangers  instead  of  her  husband ! 

33.  They  give  gifts  to  all  whores:  but  thou  givest  thy 
gifts  to  all  thy  lovers,  and  hirest  them,  that  they  may  come 
unto  thee  on  every  side  for  thy  wdioredom. 

34.  And  the  contrary  is  in  thee  from  other  w^omen  in  thy 
whoredoms,  whereas  none  followeth  thee  to  commit  whore- 
doms :  and  in  that  thou  givest  a  reward,  and  no  reward  is 
given  unto  thee;  therefore  thou  art  contrary. 

"How  weak  is  thine  heart"  as  to  any  stamina  of  womanly  char- 
acter— any  thing  noble,  dignified,  worthy  of  an  intelligent  being! 
The  depth  of  her  debasement  is  measured  by  the  fact  that  in- 
stead of  receiving  the  Avages  of  prostitution,  she  gives  them  to  her 
paramours !  She  had  gone  abroad  to  seek  after  idol  gods,  taking 
up  greedily  the  meanest  and  vilest  objects  ever  worshiped  by  the 

heathen. The  prophet  assumes  it  to  be  the  custom  of  harlots  to 

"scorn  hire,"  yet  not  in  the  sense  of  being  above  its  meanness, 
but  in  the  sense  of  decrying  the  offered  wages  as  a  bid  for  higher! 
Even  this  disgusting,  inefiable  meanness  was  entirely  a])ove  the 
harlot-life  of  Jerusalem!     She  had  sunk  indefinitely  lower! 

35.  Wherefore,  O  harlot,  hear  the  word  of  the  Lord : 

36.  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God;  Because  thy  filthiness 
was  poured  out,  and  thy  nakedness  discovered  through  thy 
whoredoms  with  thy  lovers,  and  wdth  all  the  idols  of  thy 
abominations,  and  by  the  blood  of  thy  children,  which  thou 
didst  give  unto  them ; 

37.  Behold  therefore,  I  will  gather  all  thy  lovers,  with 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XVI  87 

whom  thou  hast  taken  pleasure,  and  all  them  that  thou 
hast  loved,  with  all  them  that  thou  hast  hated ;  I  will  even 
gather  them  round  about  against  thee,  and  will  discover 
thy  nakedness  unto  them,  that  they  may  see  all  thy  naked- 
ness. 

38.  And  I  will  judge  thee,  as  women  that  break  wedlock 
and  shed  blood  are  judged;  and  I  will  give  thee  blood  in 
fury  and  jealousy. 

39.  And  I  will  also  give  thee  into  their  hand,  and  they 
shall  throw  down  thine  eminent  j^lace,  and  shall  break  down 
thy  high  places ;  they  shall  strip  thee  also  of  thy  clothes,  and 
shall  take  thy  fair  jewels,  and  leave  thee  naked  and  bare. 

40.  They  shall  also  bring  up  a  company  against  thee,  and 
they  shall  stone  thee  with  stones,  and  thrust  thee  through 
with  their  swords. 

41.  And  they  shall  burn  thy  houses  with  fire,  and  exe- 
cute judgments  upon  thee  in  the  sight  of  many  women :  and 
I  will  cause  thee  to  cease  from  playing  the  harlot,  and  thou 
also  shalt  give  no  hire  any  more. 

The  Hebrew  law  had  stringent  penalties  for  the  crime  of  adultery. 
See  Deut.  22:  22-24 — the  stoning  of  both  the  guilty  parties,  in  the 

public    "gate  of  the  city." \Vith  rare    exceptions,  all  nations, 

civilized  or  savage,  punish  this  crime  severely.  Indeed,  human 
society  can  not  exist  without  some  respect,  free  or  forced,  for  the 
seventh  commandment.  Where  there  is  no  such  respect,  society  is 
already  rotten,  and  decomposing ;  nations  are  dying ;  men  are  too  cor- 
rupt to  live. In  this  passage,  v.  38  alludes  with  terrible  power 

to  the  jealousy  and  fury  with  which  men  often  avenge  the  crime 
of  adultery  when  their  own  hearts  are  torn  and  their  own  homes 
ruined  by  it.  So  God  will  shed  the  blood  of  Jerusalem  in  his 
fury  and  jealousy !  What  could  be  more  fearfully  expressive !  He 
will  make  an  example  of  her  before  many  cities  and  nations,  as 
the  adulteress  suffered  her  deserved  doom  "  in  the  sight  of  many 
women." 

42.  So  will  I  make  my  fury  toward  thee  to  rest,  and  my 
jealousy  shall  depart  from  thee,  and  I  will  be  quiet,  and 
will  be  no  more  angry. 

43.  Because  thou  hast  not  remembered  the  days  of  thy 
youth,  but  has  fretted  me  in  all  these  things;  behold  there- 
fore, I  also  will  recompense  thy  way  upon  thy  head,  saith  the 
Lord  God :  and  thou  shalt  not  commit  this  lewdness  above 
all  thine  abominations. 

"  Will  make  my  fury  toward  thee  to  rest,"  assumes  that  this 
appalling  execution  of  judgment  would  satisfy  God's  sense  of  jus- 
tice and  ease  his  heart  from  the  painful  burden  of  its  demands. 


88  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XVI. 

In  V.  43  is  a  renewed  mention  of  the  sin  of  "  not  remembering  the 
days  of  her  youth"  to  be  moved  thereby  to  a  better  life.     See  v.  22 

and  notes  there. In  the  phrase,  "hast  fretted  me,"  the  original 

scarcely  bears  the  transitive  sense  in  this  form  of  the  verb.  Better 
thus:  "Thou  hast  raged  against  me"-:^hast  been  violent  and  out- 
breaking in  thy  wickedness.  The  same  verb  appears  in  Gen.  45 : 
24,  there  rendered,  "  See  that  je  fall  not  out  by  the  way."  Also  Prov. 
29 :  9 ;  and  much  in  point,  2  Kings  19 :  27,  28 ;  God  saying  to  the 

proud  Assyrian  monarch;  "I  know  thy  rage  against  me." The 

last  clause  means.  Thy  lewdness,  not  "  above,"  but  in  addition  to 
all  thine  other  abominations;  implying  that  Jerusalem  was  guilty 
of  gross  immoralities  besides  her  lewdness,  i.  e.,  idolatry.  There 
are  references  to  violence — sins  against  personal  safety  and  life — 
which  show  that  common  morality  had  sunk  fearfully  low — as  it 
might  be  said,  below  the  living  point. 

44.  Behold,  every  one  that  useth  proverbs  shall  use  this 
proverb  against  thee,  saying,  As  is  the  mother,  so  is  her 
daughter. 

45.  Thou  art  thy  mother's  daughter,  that  loatheth  her 
husband  and  her  children ;  and  thou  art  the  sister  of  thy 
sisters,  which  loathed  their  husbands  and  their  children ; 
your  mother  ivas  an  Hittite,  and  your  father  an  Amorite. 

See  V.  3,  and  notes  there.  Jerusalem  has  imitated  and  even 
surpassed  the  immoralities  and  crimes  of  the  debased  nations  of 
Canaan. 

46.  And  thine  elder  sister  is  Samaria,  she  and  her  daugh- 
ters that  dwell  at  thy  left  hand :  and  thy  younger  sister, 
that  dwelleth  at  thy  right  hand,  is  Sodom  and  her  daughters. 

47.  Yet  hast  thou  not  walked  after  their  ways,  nor  done 
after  their  abominations:  but  as  if  that  were  a  very  little 
thing,  thou  wast  corrupted  more  than  they  in  all  thy  ways. 

To  humble  the  national  pride  of  Jerusalem  and  set  forth  her 
monstrous  guilt,  she  is  compared  to  Samaria  as  her  sister  on  the 
left  hand,  and  to  Sodom,  her  sister  on  the  right.  Jerusalem  sits 
geographically  between  these  two  cities  with  her  face  to  the  cast. 
"  Slie  did  not  walk  after  their  ways,"  for  she  had  done  indefi- 
nitely worse  than  they.  So  utterly  had  her  crimes  surpassed  theirs, 
as  to  throw  them  quite  into  the  shade. — = — In  v.  47,  the  original 
word  rendered,  "  a  very  little  thing,"  means  a  thing  of  disgust,  as  if 
it  disgusted  her  as  too  small  sinning.  Jerusalem  piques  herself  upon 
sinning  on  a  grander  scale,  with  more  daring,  horrible  impiety ! 

48.  As  I  live,  saith  the  Lord  God,  Sodom  thy  sister  hath 
not  done,  she  nor  her  daughters,  as  thou  hast  done,  thou 
and  thy  daughters. 

49.  Behold,  this  was  the   iniquity  of  thy  sister  Sodom, 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XVI.  89 

pride,  fullness  of  bread,  and  abundance  of  idleness  was  in 
her  and  in  her  daughters,  neither  did  she  strengthen  the 
hand  of  the  poor  and  needy. 

50.  And  they  were  haughty  and  committed  abomination 
before  me:  therefore  I  took  them  away  as  I  saw  good. 

This  comparison  with  Sodom  is  full  of  intense  significance  and 
power.  There  stood  the  history  of  Sodom  and  her  fearful  doom 
before  the  very  eyes  of  the  Jewish  people.  The  record  of  it  lifts 
lip  its  columns  of  smoke  and  flame  before  the  generations  of  history, 
standing  on  their  own  sacred  page,  and  it  would  seem  that  they 
must  have  learned  from  their  childhood  to  abhor  such  crimes  and 
dread  such  a  doom !     Yet  here  the  burning  tongue  of  their  prophet 

puts  it  to  them  that  their  own  guilt  is  indefinitely  greater ! The 

clause  rendered,  "abundance  of  idleness,"  seems  more  strictly  to 
mean,  the  most  perfect  quiet;  exemption  from  all  fear  of  national 
disaster.  Like  Moab,  she  was  "  settled  on  her  lees,  and  had  not 
been  emptied  from  vessel  to  vessel."  See  Jer.  48:  11.  It  seems 
to  be  assumed  here  that  national  calamity  checked  the  growth  of 

national  depravity  and  crime. In  the  last  clause  of  v.  50,  the 

word  good  is  without  authority.  The  original  seems-  to  mean, 
"When  I  saw  it,"  alluding  to  Gen.  18:  20,  21,  "I  will  go 'down 
now  and  see  if  they  have  done  altogether  according  to  the  cry  that 
is  come  unto  me." 

51.  Neither  hath  Samaria  committed  half  of  thy  sins ; 
but  thou  hast  multiplied  thijie  abominations  more  than 
they,  and  hast  justified  thy  sisters  in  all  thine  abominations 
which  thou  hast  done. 

52.  Thou  also,  which  hast  judged  thy  sisters,  bear  thine 
own  shame  for  thy  sins  that  thou  hast  committed  more 
abominable  than  they :  they  are  more  righteous  than  thou : 
yea,  be  thou  confounded  also,  and  bear  thy  shame,  in  that 
thou  hast  justified  thy  sisters. 

Jerusalem  in  her  abominations  had  justified  Samaria  only  in 
the  sense  that  her  greater  crimes  made  the  sins  of  Samaria  appear 

to  be  almost  virtues. V.   52  might  be  translated,  "Bear  thou 

(Jerusalem)  that  disgrace  which  thou  hast  adjudged  to  thy  sisters, 
for  thy  sins  in  which  thou  hast  been  more  abominable  than  they," 
etc.  Jerusalem  had  condemned  her  sisters,  Sodom  and  Samaria, 
adjudging  to  them  deep  disgrace.  Let  her  bear  all  tliis  herself 
and  more,  for  her  greater  abominations. 

53.  When  I  shall  bring  again  their  captivity,  the  captiv- 
ity of  Sodom  and  her  daughters,  and  the  captivity  of  Sam- 
aria and  her  daughters,  then  ivlll  I  bring  again  the  captiv- 
ity of  thy  captives  in  the  midst  of  them : 

54.  That  thou  mayest  bear  thine  own  shame,  and  maycst 


90  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XVI. 

be  confounded  in  all  that  thou  hast  done,  in  that  thou  art 
a  comfort  unto  them. 

55.  When  thy  sisters,  Sodom  and  her  daughters,  shall 
return  to  their  former  estate,  and  Samaria  and  her  daughters 
shall  return  to  their  former  estate,  then  thou  and  thy 
daughters  shall  return  to  your  former  estate. 

This  also  must  have  been  acutely  mortifying  to  the  pride  of 
Jerusalem.  Sodom  and  Samaria  shall  stand  before  thee,  or  at  least 
fully  up  with  thee,  in  the  matter  of  being  restored  in  mercy  from 
their  captivity.      Only  when  they  shall  return  from  their  captivity 

canst   thou    hope    to   return  from   thine ! [The   restoration    of 

Sodom  literally  from  her  captivity  being  quite  impossible,  this 
passage  can  not  be  taken  as  a  prophecy  of  such  restoration.  With 
almost  equal  certainty  may  the  same  be  said  of  the  ten  tribes 
(Samaria),  those  tribes  being  obviously  lost  to  history  so  that  no 
possible  restoration  could  ever  be  identified.  The  phrase  therefore, 
"Bring  again  tlieir  captivity,"  must  be  taken  as  figurative,  equiv- 
alent to  "returning  to  their  former  estate,"  as  virtually  explained 
in  V.  55.  The  statements  are  put  in  this  shape  because  the  Lord 
had  occasion  to  speak  of  restoring  Judah  again  from  her  captivity, 
and  meant  to  say  that  her  guilt  so  much  surpassed  that  of  Sodom 
and  Samaria  that  these  latter  would  be  as  soon  restored  to  their 
former  estate  as  Judah  to  hers.] 

56.  For  thy  sister  Sodom  was  not  mentioned  by  thy  mouth 
in  the  day  of  thy  pride, 

57.  Before  thy  wickedness  was  discovered,  as  at  the  time 
of  thy  reproach  of  the  daughters  of  Syria,  and  all  that  are 
round  about  her,  the  daughters  of  the  Philistines,  which 
despise  thee  round  about. 

58.  Thou  hast  borne  thy  lewdness  and  thine  abomina- 
tions, saith  the  Lord. 

59.  For  thus  saith  the  Lord  God ;  I  will  even  deal  wdth 
thee  as  thou  hast  done,  which  hast  despised  the  oath  in 
breaking  the  covenant. 

Jerusalem  was  too  proud  and  felt  herself  too  much  above  Sodom 

to  take  that  name  into  her  lips. V.  57  applies  this  remark  to 

her  pride  befoi'e  the  guilt  and  consequent  weakness  of  Jerusalem 
were  disclosed  by  the  victories  gained  over  her  by  the  Syrians. 
This  refers  probably  to  victories  gained  over  Ahaz  in  consequence 

of  his  fearful  strides  into  idolatry.     See  2  Kin^s  15  :  37. In  v. 

58  the  sense  seems  to  be,  Tliou  hast  borne  and  shalt  yet  bear  the 
punishment  for  thy  lewdness,  etc.     The  tense  of  the  verb  looks  to 

the  nearer  future  as  well  as  to  the  past. ller  ^uilt  in  despising 

her  oath  and  breaking  her  covenant  witli  her  God  was  that  espec- 
ially which  so  greatly  surpassed  the  guilt  of  Sodom  and  Samaria,  and 
which  made  her  doom  so  dreadful.      She  had  sinned  against  great 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XVI.  91 

light  and  lufinite  obligations.  "  If  I  had  not  come  and  spoken  to 
them,  they  had  not  had  sin ;  but  now  they  have  no  cloak  for  their  sin." 

60.  Nevertheless  I  Avill  remember  my  covenant  with  thee 
in  the  days  of  thy  youth,  and  I  will  establish  unto  thee 
an  everlasting  covenant. 

61.  Then  thou  shalt  remember  thy  ways,  and  be  ashamed, 
when  thou  shalt  receive  thy  sisters,  thine  elder  and  thy 
younger:  and  I  will  give  them  unto  thee  for  daughters, 
but  not  by  thy  covenant. 

62.  And  I  will  establish  my  covenant  with  thee ;  and 
thou  shalt  know  that  I  am  the  Lord  : 

63.  That  thou  mayest  remember,  and  be  confounded,  and 
never  open  thy  mouth  any  more  because  of  thy  shame,  when 
I  am  pacified  toward  thee  for  all  that  thou  hast  done,  saith 
the  Lord  God. 

What  unutterable  compassion  and  forgiving  love  are  in  these 
words !  Thou,  Jerusalem,  wilt  not  remember  the  days  of  thy  youth 
and  of  my  mercy  to  thee  then; — but  I  will  remember  my  covenant 
with  thee,  made  in  those  days  of  thy  youth,  and  I  will  establish  it 
with  thee  for  an  everlasting  covenant !  Is  not  such  love  as 
this  sovereign — a  love  that  owes  nothing  to  antecedent  love  on  the 
part  of  his  people,  but  lifts  itself  high  above  the  mountains  of 
sin  and  spans  the  deep  abysses  of  guilt  and  the  sinks  of  human 
abominations  to  find  subjects  on  which  loving-kindness  and  divine 
compassion  may  rest!  O  indeed  this  is  the  loving-kindness  of  the 
ever-blessed  God  !  Well  may  it  be  said,  "  The  Lord  is  pitiful  and  of 
tender  mercy.  He  hath  not  dealt  with  us  after  our  sins  nor  re- 
warded us  according  to  our  iniquities."  Fitly  docs  the  Lord  him- 
self testify,  "  For  my  thoughts  are  not  your  thoughts,  neither  are 
your  ways  my  ways,  saith  the  Lord.  For  as  the  heavens  are 
higher  than  the  earth,  so  are  my  ways  higher  than  your  ways  and 

my  thoughts  than  your  thoughts."     (Isa.  55  :  8,  9). In  that  day 

such  manifestations  of  mercy  and  compassion  will  melt  the  hardest 
heart.  Jerusalem  shall  remember  her  ways  and  be  ashamed  and 
confounded  and  never  open  her  mouth  any  more  (in  the  way  of 

her  old  pride)  because  of  her  shame  for  her  abominations. It 

will  heighten  both  her  shame  for  her  own  sins  and  her  sense  of 
divine  mercy  that  God  will  give  her  for  sisters,  both  Sodom  and 

Samaria,  yet  not  on  the  strength  of  her  fidelity  to  her  covenant. 

So  the  conversion  of  Gentile  nations  should  rather  deepen  the 
humility  than  flatter  the  pride  of  God's  people,  since  it  comes  not 

of  her  self-moved  fidelity  but  of  God's  self-moved  mercy. In  the 

close  of  V.  63  "pacified"  stands  for  the  usual  Hebrew  word  to  de- 
note pardon — the  covering  of  sins  from  the  sight  of  the  Lord 
through  an  atonement.  So  all  salvation  comes  through  atoning 
blood.  The  deep  apostasies  of  God's  professed  sons  and  daughters 
find  mercy  there  and  there  only. 


92  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XVII. 


CHAPTER  XVIT. 

The  riddle  or  parable  -which  constitutes  the  subject  throughout 
this  chapter  is  explained  in  the  chapter  itself  vs.  11-21.  This  ex- 
planation makes  the  significance  entirely  clear  and  certain. The 

first  eagle  (v.  3-6)  is  Nebuchadnezzar  of  Babylon:  the  second  (v.  7) 
is  Pharaoh  of  Egypt.  The  highest  branch  of  the  cedar  cropped  by 
the  first  eagle  and  carried  to  a  land  of  traffic,  etc.,  (vs.  3,  4)  was 
Jehoiachin,  taken  from  the  throne  of  Judah  into  captivity  to  Baby- 
lon. Then  "the  seed  of  the  land,  planted  in  a  fruitful  field,  by 
great  waters,  and  becoming  a  spreading  vine  of  low  stature  (vs.  5, 
6)  was  Zedekiah,  made  king  by  Nebuchadnezzar  over  the  remnant 
left  in  the  land.  He  was,  of  course,  bound  by  solemn  covenant  to 
a  faithful  allegiance  to  his  conqueror  and  sovereign.  Turning 
toward  Egypt  to  solicit  help  thence  that  he  might  maintain  him- 
self in  breaking  faith  with  the  king  of  Babylon,  was  base  treach- 
ery and  rebellion,  which  God  abhorred,  and  here  declares  that  he 
will  punish.  This  is  the  general  scope  of  the  chapter. The  his- 
torical facts  which  are  the  basis  of  this  parable  may  be  seen  in 
2  Kings  24:  8-20,  and  2  Chron.  36:  9-13,  and  Jer.  52:  1-7. 

1.  And  the  word  of  the  Lord  came  unto  me,  saying, 

2.  Son  of  man,  put  forth  a  riddle,  and  speak  a  parable 
unto  the  house  of  Israel ; 

3.  And  say.  Thus  saitli  the  Lord  God ;  A  great  eagle  with 
great  wings,  long-winged,  full  of  feathers,  which  had  divers 
colors,  came  unto  Lebanon,  and  took  the  highest  branch  of 
the  cedar : 

4.  He  cropped  off  the  top  of  his  young  twigs,  and  carried 
it  into  a  land  of  traffic ;  he  set  it  in  a  city  of  merchants. 

This  representation  partakes  of  the  nature  of  both  the  riddle  and 
the  parable.  In  its  points  of  analogy  it  is  a  parable :  in  its  enig- 
ma— in  the  fact  that  its  significance  is  somewhat  recondite  and 

obscure;    it  is  a  riddle. The   eagle,  king  of  birds,  not  unfitly 

represents  the  kings  of  Chaldea  and  Egypt.  So,  also  a  tree, 
whether  the  cedar  or  the  vine-tree,  with  its  magnificent  foliage  and 
abundant  fruit,  making  homes  and  furnishing  food  for  whole  fam- 
ilies of  birds,  not  unai)tly  represents  a  great  king,  the  father  of  his 
people.  This  figure  was  not  altogether  foreign  to  Chaldea,  for  wo 
find  it  applied  beautifully  to  Nebuchadnezzar  in  Dan.  4, 

5.  He  took  also  of  the  seed  of  the  land,  and  planted  it  in 
a  fruitful  field ;  he  placed  it  by  great  waters,  and  set  it  as 
a  willow  tree. 

6.  And  it  grew,  and  became  a  spreading  vine  of  Ioav  st^it- 
ure,   whose  branches  turned   toward   him,   and    the   roots 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XVII.  93 

thereof  were  under  him :  so  it  became  a  vine,  and  brought 
forth  branches,  and  shot  forth  sprigs. 

This  eagle,  (Nebuchadnezzar)  now  takes  of  the  seed  of  the  land, 
a  scion  of  the  royal  family  of  Judah,  and  plants  it  under  fiivorable 
auspices  in  a  fruitful  field  and  by  abundant  waters,  where  it  might 
become, — not  indeed  a  great  cedar,  but  a  humble  yet  useful  vine. 
If  Zedekiah  had  remained  true  to  his  sovereign,  and  especially,  if 
true  also  to  God,  he  and  his  people  might  have  enjoyed  a  career 
of  honor  and  prosperity.  His  comparatively  humble  condition — 
a  vine  of  low  stature — looks  to  the  fact  that  all  the  chief  princes 
and  the  more  active,  intelligent  and  useful  citizens,  had  been 
taken  to  Babylon  as  captives.     See  2  Kings  24 :  14-16,  and  Jer.  24, 

7.  There  was  also  another  great  eagle  with  great  wings 
and  many  feathers:  and  behold,  this  vine  did  bend  her 
roots  toward  him,  and  shot  forth  her  branches  toward  him, 
that  he  might  water  it  by  the  furrows  of  her  j)lantation. 

8.  It  was  planted  in  a  good  soil  by  great  waters,  that  it 
might  bring  forth  branches,  and  that  it  might  bear  fruit, 
that  it  might  be  a  goodly  vine. 

The  historical  facts  represented  here  are  simply  that  Zedekiah 
rebelled  against  Nebuchadnezzar  and  sent  ambassadors  to  Egypt 
for  aid.  This  policy  the  Lord  by  his  prophet  sharply  condemned. 
It  was  the  burden  of  repeated  remonstrances  through  Jeremiah. 

9.  Say  thou.  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God;  Shall  it  prosper? 
shall  he  not  pull  up  the  roots  thereof,  and  cut  off  the  fruit 
thereof,  that  it  wither?  it  shall  wither  in  all  the  leaves  of 
her  spring,  even  without  great  power,  or  many  people  to 
pluck  it  up  by  the  roots  thereof. 

10.  Yea,  behold,  heing  planted,  shall  it  prosper?  shall  it 
not  utterly  wither,  when  the  east  wind  toucheth  it  ?  it  shall 
wither  in  the  furrows  where  it  grew. " 

The  Lord  now  begins  to  make  the  moral  application  of  this  par- 
able. Shall  such  treachery  prosper?  Can  such  ingratitude  and 
baseness  result  well  in  the  end?  Will  not  the  first  great  eagle 
(Nebuchadnezzar)  take  revenge  upon  this  vine  (Zedekiah) ;  tear  it 

up  by  its  roots  and  leave  it  to  wither  and  die  ? The  passage 

intimates  that  this  will  be  done  easily.  Judah  was  now  greatly 
reduced  in  military  strength  by  the  loss  of  her  citizens  already 
taken  captive;  by  her  immoralities;  and  not  least,  by  God's  wrath 
against  her.  The  king  of  Babylon  could  easily  punish  her  "with- 
out great  power  or  many  people  to  pluck  her  up  by  her  roots." 

11.  Moreover  the  word  of  the  Lord  came  unto  me,  say- 

12.  Say  now  to  the  rebellious  house,  Know  ye  not  what 


94  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XVII. 

these  things  mean?  Tell  them,  Behold,  the  king  of  Baby- 
Ion  is  come  to  Jerusalem,  and  hath  taken  the  king  thereof, 
and  the  princes  thereof,  and  led  them  with  him  to  Babylon ; 

13.  And  hath  taken  of  the  king's  seed,  and  made  a  cov- 
enant with  him,  and  hath  taken  an  oath  of  him:  he  hath 
also  taken  the  mighty  of  the  land: 

14.  That  the  kingdom  might  be  base,  that  it  might  not 
lift  itself  up,  hut  that  by  keeping  of  his  covenant  it  might 
stand. 

15.  But  he  rebelled  against  him  in  sending  his  ambassa- 
dors into  Egypt,  that  they  might  give  him  horses  and  much 
people.  Shall  he  prosper?  shall  he  escape  that  doeth  such 
things  f  or  shall  he  break  the  covenant,  and  be  delivered? 

16.  As  I  live,  saith  the  Lord  God,  surely  in  the  place 
where  the  king  divelleth  that  made  him  king,  whose  oath  he 
despised,  and  whose  covenant  he  brake,  even  with  him  in 
the  midst  of  Babylon  he  shall  die. 

This  explanation  is  itself  plain  and  most  amply  unfolds  the 
meaning  of  this  riddle  or  parable.  The  great  facts  of  Zedekiah's 
treachery  were  just  about  transpiring  now  in  the  sixth  year  of  his 
reign.  It  was  essential  that  the  exiles  in  Chaldea  should  know 
these  facts,  and  should  see  the  justice  of  God's  wrath  a<i;ainst  Zede- 
kiah  and  his  people  for  this  rebellion  against  the  king  of  Babylon. 
Hence  this  representation  held  a  vitally  important  place  in  Ezekiel's 

prophecies  to  his  captive  brethren. V.  16  disclosed  to  them  the 

pertinent  prophecy  that  King  Zedekiah  should  be  brought  to  the 
place  where  his  real  sovereign  lived,  under  the  power  of  the  king 
against  whom  he  had  perjured  himself  and  whose  covenant  he  had 
broken,  and  should  die  there  in  Babylon.  This  announcement 
must  have  sufficed  to  crush  out  any  fond  hopes  they  might  have 
had  as  to  the  reign  of  Zedekiah. 

17.  Neither  shall  Pharaoh,  with  his  mighty  army  and 
great  company,  make  for  him  in  the  war,  by  casting  up 
mounts,  and  building  forts,  to  cut  ofi'  many  persons: 

18.  Seeing  he  despised  the  oath  by  breaking  the  cove- 
nant, when  lo,  he  had  given  his  hand,  and  hath  done  all 
these  things,  he  shall  not  escape. 

19.  Therefore  thus  saith  the  Lord  God;  As  I  live,  surely 
mine  oath  that  he  hath  despised,  and  my  covenant  that  he 
hath  broken,  even  it  will  I  recompense  upon  his  own  head. 

20.  And  I  will  spread  my  net  upon  him,  and  he  shall  be 
taken  in  my  snare,  and  I  will  bring  him  to  Babylon,  and 
will  plead  with  him  there  for  his  trespass  that  he  hath 
trespassed  against  me. 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XVII.  95 

21.  And  all  his  fugitives  with  all  his  bands  shall  fall  by 
the  sword,  and  they  that  remain  shall  be  scattered  toward 
all  winds :  and  ye  shall  know  that  I  the  Lord  have  spoken  it. 

The  help  of  Egypt,  though  promised  him,  should  avail  nothing. 
Deservedly  this  passage  lays  stress  upon  the  base  treachery  and 
rebellion  of  Zedekiah  as  the  ground  of  the  Lord's  last  judgments  on 

himself,  his  family  and  his  throne. So  true  and  right  it  is  that 

God  holds  even  kings  to  the  morality  of  good  faith  in  their  solemn 
compacts.  Why  should  he  not?  Why  should  kings  be  privileged  to 
perjure  themselves  with  impunity?  Could  the  influence  of  such 
an  example  on  whole  masses  of  people  be  endured  under  the  gov- 
ernment of  God  ? Need  it  be  said  that  this  principle  applies  to 

all  rulers  under  every  form  of  human  government?  Or  that  the 
curse  of  God  against  national  bad  faith  is  not  a  whit  lessened  but 
is  greatly  aggravated  by  the  weakness  of  the  party  to  whom  the 
nation's  faith  is  pledged?  What  must  God  think  and  what  ought 
the  wide  world  to  say  of  the  violation  of  American  treaties  with 
the  feeble  Indian  tribes  ?  And  what  if  the  good  faith  of  the  na- 
tion should  be  broken  with  the  Anglo-African  race  after  they  have 
saved  the  nation  by  their  fidelity  and  bravery  in  arms  under  the 
national  guarantee  of  freedom  and  protection  ? 

22.  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God,  I  will  also  take  of  the  high- 
est branch  of  the  high  cedar,  and  will  set  it;  I  will  crop 
off  from  the  top  of  his  young  twigs  a  tender  one,  and  will 
plant  it  upon  a  high  mountain  and  eminent : 

23.  In  the  mountain  of  the  height  of  Israel  wall  I  plant 
it :  and  it  shall  bring  forth  boughs,  and  bear  fruit,  and  be 
a  goodly  cedar :  and  under  it  shall  dwell  all  fowl  of  every 
wing ;  in  the  shadow  of  the  branches  thereof  shall  they  dwell, 

24.  And  all  the  trees  of  the  field  shall  know  that  I  the 
Lord  have  brought  down  the  high  tree,  have  exalted  the 
low  tree,  have  dried  up  the  green  tree,  and  have  made  the 
dry  tree  to  flourish:  I  the  Lord  have  spoken  and  have 
done  it. 

The  tone  of  this  chapter  thus  far  might  naturally  be  depressing 
to  the  exiles,  adapted  to  extinguish  their  hopes  for  all  the  future  of 
God's  kingdom  and  cause  on  earth.  Hence  the  special  fitness  of 
this  beautiful  closing  prophecy.  It  not  only  counteracted  their 
discouragement,  but  it  laid  the  foundation  for  sweet  and  glorious 

hope. ^Is  the  eagle  able  to  pluck  the  highest  branch  of  the  proud 

cedar,  and  set  it  where  he  will  ?  So  God — a  loftier  monarch  than 
he  of  Babylon — will  pluck  a  tender  scion  from  his  high  cedar  and 
will  set  it  in  his  high  and  holy  mountain — the  ever  honored  tem- 
ple mountain  in  Jerusalem,  for  this  must  be  "the  mountain  in  the 
height  of  Israel."     Compare  such  passages  as  Isa.  2:  2-4,  Micah 


96  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XVIII. 

4:  1-3,  and  in  Ezekiel  himself,  chap.  20:  40:  "For  in  mine  holy 
mountain,  in  the  mountain  of  the  heijiht  of  Israel,  there  shall  all 
the  house  of  Israel  serve  me ;  there  will  I  accept  them  and  there 

will  I  require  your  oiferings,"  etc.     See  also  chap.  34:  14. To 

the  glory  of  this  goodly  cedar,  there  shall  be  no  eclipse.  No 
decay  shall  ever  reach  it,  neither  shall  violence  pluck  it  up; 
there  shall  be  no  limit  to  the  blessings  it  shall  diffuse.  "  Under 
it  shall  dwell  all  fowl  of  every  wing;  in  the  shadow  of  the 
branch  thereof  shall  they  dwell."  It  shall  forever  illustrate  the 
sovereign  power  of  God  who  takes  down  the  loftiest  monarchs  of 
earth  at  his  pleasure,  and  lifts  up  the  lowest;  who  "withers  the 
green  tree  and  makes  the  dry  tree  flourish,"  and  who,  according  to 
this  promise  of  his  love,  will  cast  down  all  opposing  thrones  and 
will  establish  the  one  universal  throne  of  his  own  glorious  Son  that 
"  the  kingdoms  of  this  world  may  become  the  kingdom  of  our  Lord 

and  of  his  Christ,  and  he  shall  reign  for  ever  and  ever." There 

can  be  no  good  reason  to  doubt  the  application  of  these  verses  to 
the  then  future  Messiah.  AH  the  kings  of  David's  line  were  in 
the  succession  of  promise  between  him  and  his  greater  Son.  Hence 
the  sad  fall  of  the  two  last  prior  to  the  captivity  afforded  a  pertinent 
occasion  for  thus  alluding  to  the  greater  glories — never  to  be  des- 
paired of — that  were  sure  to  the  future  Zion  in  her  blessed  King. 
The  hopes  of  God's  people  need  not  go  down  in  the  eclipse  that 
came  over  the  royal  house  of  David  through  the  crimes,  the  cap- 
tivity, and  the  death,  of  these  two  kings.  Their  doom  forcibly 
suggested  the  contrasted  destiny  of  " the  Righteous  Branch"  that 
should  reign  and  prosper"  and  fill  the  earth  with  his  blessings. 
The  Lord  could  not  forego  such  an  opportunity  for  promises  so 
timely,  so  refreshing,  so  inspiring  to  his  true  people  in  all  ages. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 


Tiiis  chapter  refutes  the  implication  of  injustice  in  God,  involved 
in  the  use  of  the  proverb,  "  The  fixthers  have  eaten  sour  grapes  and 
the  children's  teeth  are  set  on  edge." The  whole  subject  de- 
mands careful  attention  and  candid,  intelligent  discriminations. 
For  it  should  be  remembered  that  in  the  standard  moral  law  em- 
braced in  the  ten  commandments  the  Lord  appends  to  the  penal- 
ties of  the  second  commandment,  forbidding  idolatry,  these  words : 
"  Visiting  the  iniquities  of  the  fathers  upon  the  children  unto  the 
third  and  fourth  generation  of  those  that  hate  me;"  and  further, 
that  the  prophets  had  declared  that  God  would  and  did  send  the 
Jews  into  captivity  for  the  sins  of  Manasseh; — e.  g.^  2  Kini^s 
24:  3,  4,  and  23:  26,  27,  and  21 :  11-16.  But  these  judgments  fell, 
not  on  Manasseh  himself,  but  on  his  sons  of  the  third  and  fourth 
e;eneration — Josiah  being  in  the  second;  his  sons  Jehoiakim  and 
Zedekiah  in  the  third,  and  Jehoiachin  in  the  fourth.     It  need  not 


I 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XVIII.  97 

surprise  us  therefore  that  this  proverb  should  come  to  the  lips  of 
men  who  sought  to  justify  themselves  in  their  sins,  and  who  Avere 
gratified  to  have  even  the  least  apology  for  arraigning  the  justice 

of  God  and  for  persisting  in  their  sins,  refusing  to  repent. The 

chapter  will  show  us  how  the  Lord  meets  this  implication  and  how 
he  enforces  upon  the  people  their  personal  duty. 

1.  The  word  of  the  Lord  came  unto. me  again,  saying, 

2.  What  mean  ye,  that  ye  use  this  proverb  concerning 
the  land  of  Israel,' saying,  The  fathers  have  eaten  sour 
grapes,  and  the  children's  teeth  are  set  on  edge? 

3.  As  I  live,  saith  the  Lord  God,  ye  shall  not  have  occa- 
sion any  more  to  use  this  proverb  in  Israel. 

The  original  rendered — "  What  mean  ye  ?  "  demands  rather  the 
reason  than  the  meaning.  The  sense  is,  Whi/  should  ye  thus  im- 
plicate the  justice  of  God?  and  not  merely  this;  What  precisely  do 
you  mean  by  this  proverb  ?  The  Hebrew  would  read  literally ; 
"What  is  it  to  you  who  are  using  this  proverb?"  etc.;  equal  to, 
Whi/  do  ye  use  this  proverb  ?  Nearly  the  same  phrase  has  occurred 
chap.  12 :  22 ;  "  What  to  you  is  that  proverb  concerning  the  land 
of  Israel?"  i.  e.,  What  business  have  you  to  use  it?  For  what 
reason  ?— = — In  v.  3  the  word  "  occasion,"  supplied  by  our  translat- 
ors with  no  corresponding  word  in  the  original,  should  not  by  any 
means  be  construed  so  as  to  imply  that  the  Jews  previously  had 
good  reason  for  using  this  proverb,  but  should  have  it  no  longer. 
The  original  simply  affirms,  "  There  shall  not  be  to  you  any  more 
the  using  of  this  proverb;"  which  naturally  means,  Ye  shall  no 
more  use  it.  The  Lord  would  set  the  case  in  a  light  so  clear  that 
they  must  see  the  injustice  of  the  implication  which  it  involved. 
It  does  not  by  any  means  appear  that  the  Lord  proposes  to  change 
his  policy,  i.  e.,  either  his  principles  or  his  practice  in  his  govern- 
ment, so  that  henceforth  there  should  be  no  more  occasion  for 
using  this  proverb,  while  previously  there  may  have  been  occasion. 

The  phrase,  "  Set  on  edge,"  is  in  common  use  for  that  peculiar 

sensation  and  effect  produced  sometimes  by  using  acid  fruit.  It  is 
singular  that  while  this  phrase  seems  most  naturally  to  mean  sharp- 
ened^ the  original  Hebrew  means  to  malce  dull.  The  sensation  best 
explains  itself  Its  meaning  as  a  proverb  is  simply.  The  fathers 
sin  and  the  children  suffer  its  penalty. 

4.  Behold,  all  souls  are  mine;  as  the  soul  of  the  father, 
so  also  the  soul  of  the  son  is  mine:  tlie  soul  that  sinneth, 
it  shall  die. 

This  is  the  first  point  of  the  Lord's  reply.  The  affirmation,  "  ara 
mine"  implies  not  only  ownership  but  parental  care  and  responsi- 
bility, and  especially  the  governmental  responsibility  of  dealing 
with  them  according  to  justice  and  never  in  violation  of  justice. 
The  Infinite  Father  who  has  given  existence  to  all  human  souls 
5 


98  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XVIII. 

affirms  of  himself  that  he  holds  the  solemn  trust  of  administering 
his  moral  government  over  them  all — over  fathers  and  sons  alike — 
on  such  principles  as  can  never  involve  any  injustice.  The  sinning 
soul  and  he  only  shall  die.  He  dies  for  his  own  sins  and  not  for 
another's.  The  same  Lord  is  equally  just  to  all.  Bound  to  be  just 
toward  the  son  as  truly  as  toward  the  father — loving  the  son  as  he 
loves  the  father — how  can  he  visit  upon  the  son  the  proper  penalty 

of  the  sin  of  which  the  father  only  is  guilty?     He  never  can. 

The  Hebrew  phrase  rendered  "  are  mine,"  occurs  elsewhere,  chap. 
29:  3,  where  Pharaoh  says  of  the  Nile,  "My  river  is  miyie  own;  I 
have  made  it  for  myself"  Also  Exod.  13:  2,  where  the  Lord  says 
of  every  first-born  in  Israel,  "  Ji!  is  mine;''  and  Ps.  50:  10,  where 
the  same  is  affirmed  of  "  every  beast  of  the  forest  and  of  the  cattle 
on  a  thousand  hills."  The  ownership  which  God  claims  in  human 
souls  involves  higher  responsibilities  than  his  0"svnership  of  the 
beasts  of  the  field  because  they  have  nobler  powers  and  sustain 

higher  relations. The  words  "die"  and  "death"  are  used  in 

the  Scriptures  in  at  least  three  diverse  senses:  (1.)  For  the  well- 
known  dissolution  of  soul  and  body — natural  death.  (2.)  For  a 
state  of  heart  in  which  sin  has  absolute  dominion  and  the  soul  is 
committed  to  sinning  past  all  hope  of  recovery  by  its  own  exer- 
tions— a  state  often  called  spiritual  death.  (3.)  For  the  penalty  of 
the  divine  law  for  sin — an  amount  of  suffering  and  evil  thought  of 
as  indefinitely  great,  and  called  death  because  this  word  stands  for 
the  greatest  earthly  evil — the  ultimate  infliction  possible  for  man 

to  inflict  on  his   fellow-man. The   two  former   are  not  to  be 

thought  of  in  this  connection.  Only  the  third  meets  the  conditions 
of  the  case.  See  the  term  used  in  the  same  sense  by  Jeremiah 
(chap.  31 :  30)  in  the  same  connection  as  here,  rebuking  the  people 
for  using  this  same  proverb.  Also  by  Ezekiel  (chap.  3:  18-20), 
and  by  Hosea  (chap.  13:  1);  "When  Ephraim  offended  in  the 
matter  of  Baal,  he  died;  and  now  they  sin  more  and  more,"  etc. — 
implying  that  the  terrible  penalty  of  death  was  in  their  case  still 
suspended.  It  should  be  noted  that  those  principles — "  all  souls 
are  mine;"  and  "the  sinning  soul  shall  die" — are  immutable  and 
eternal.  They  had  not  been  adopted  si^ice  the  Jews  had  begun  to 
use  this  proverb  and  in  consequence  of  this  use.  They  had  not 
come  into  existence  as  a  modification  of  the  Lord's  recent  course 
toward  the  Jewish  nation.  The  possible  implication  which  our  re- 
ceived translation  ("shall  not  have  occasion  any  more")  might  be 
thought  to  favor,  finds  no  support  in  this  first  grand  point  made  in 
the  reply  of  the  Lord. 

5.  But  if  a  man  fee  just,  and  do  that  which  is  lawful  and 
right, 

6.  And  hath  not  eaten  upon  the  mountains,  neither  hath 
lifted  up  his  eyes  to  the  idols  of  the  house  of  Israel,  neither 
hath  defiled  his  neighbor's  wife,  neither  hath  come  near  to 
a  menstruous  woman. 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XVIII.  •  99 

7.  And  hatli  not  oppressed  any,  hut  hath  restored  to  the 
debtor  his  pledge,  hath  spoiled  none  by  violence,  hath  given 
his  bread  to  the  hungry,  and  hath  covered  the  naked  with 
a  garment ; 

8.  He  that  hath  not  given  forth  upon  usury,  neither  hath 
taken  any  increase,  that  hath  withdrawn  his  hand  from  in- 
iquity, hath  executed  true  judgment  between  man  and  man, 

9.  Hath  walked  in  my  statutes,  and  hath  kept  my  judg- 
ments, to  deal  truly;  he  is  just,  he  shall  surely  live,  saith 
the  Lord  God. 

This  is  a  description  of  a  good  man,  drawn  for  those  times,  in 
view  of  the  morals  and  immoralities  of  that  age,  and  also  of  the 

precepts  and  prohibitions  of  the  Mosaic  law. "  Eaten  upon  the 

mountains,"  means,  eaten  at  idol  feasts,  of  flesh  offered  to  idols 

and  in  their  honor. ''High  places"   were  chosen  as   sites  for 

idol  temples  and  worship. "Restored  to  the  debtor  his  pledge." 

The  Hebrew  law,  protecting  the  poor  debtor,  prescribed  very 
specific  rules  in  regard  to  receiving  and  restoring  pledges -given  for 
the  payment  of  debts.  See  Ex.  22:  25-27  and  Deut.  24:  6,  10-13. 
The  main  points  were  that  raiment  taken  in  pledge  must  be  re- 
stored before  sunset  so  that  the  debtor  might  use  it  for  his  bed- 
covering;  that  neither  the  upper  nor  nether  mill-stone  might  be 
taken  at  all — this  being  a  necessity  for  every  family,  however  poor ; 
and  that  the  creditor  must  not  go  into  the  debtor's  house  to  get  his 
pledge,  but  must  "stand  abroad"  and  wait  for  the  poor  man  to 
t)ring  it  out.  With  such  jealous  care  did  the  gracious  Lord  protect 
the  rights  and  interests  of  the  poor  against  the  not  infrequent  inhu- 
manities of  the  rich. The  law  against  loaning  upon  usury  and 

taking  increase,  rested  on  the  same  principle — the  protection  of 
the  poor  and  unfortunate — who  in  those  ages  were  the  borrowers 
contemplated  in  these  laws.  Using  other  people's  money  to  make 
more  money  was  quite  unknown  in  legitimate  Hebrew  life.  In 
circumstances  where  such  business  is  legitimate  and  useful,  it  can 
not  be  inferred  from  the  Hebrew  law  that  it  would  be  wrong  to 
take  interest  for  the  use  of  money. Of  this  just  man,  thus  de- 
scribed in  detail,  the  Lord  declares,  "Ae  shall  surely  live ;"  i  e.,  he 
shall  not  die  in  the  sense  of  death  as  used  in  this  chapter.  He 
shall  have  the  favor  and  blessing  of  God,  and  not  his  Irown  and 
curse.  The  point  of  the  affirmation  is  that  God  deals  with  indi- 
vidual men  on  principles  that  never  violate  simple  justice. 

Here  let  us  carefully  note  that  while  the  Lord  conducts  his  defense 
and  states  the  policy  of  his  moral  government  by  means  of  hypo- 
thetical cases — ^^  If  a  man" — any  man — do  so  and  so,  such  and  such 
shall  be  the  result;  yet  his  supposed  cases  would  naturally  suggest 
the  names  of  various  kings  well  known  in  their  recent  history. 
Thus,  e.  g.^  under  this  hypothetical  case  (vs.  5-9)  they  might  nat- 
urally write  the  names  of  Hezekiah  and  Josiah.  They  were  good 
men.     They  shall  live  and  not  die.     The  hypothetical  form  would 


100  -  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XVIII. 

apply  the  principle  to  every  good  man:  the  character  living  in  their 
thought  and  prominent  in  the  recent  history  of  their  kings,  would 
give  it  vitality  and  force. 

10.  If  he  beget  a  son  that  is  a  robber,  a  shedder  of  blood, 
and  that  doeth  the  like  to  any  one  of  these  things, 

11.  And  that  doeth  not  any  of  those  duties,  but  even  hath 
eaten  upon  the  mountains,  and  defiled  his  neighbor's  wife, 

12.  Hath  oppressed  the  poor  and  needy,  hath  spoiled  by 
violence,  hath  not  restored  the  pledge,  and  hath  lifted  up 
his  eyes  to  the  idols,  hath  committed  abomination, 

13.  Hath  given  forth  upon  usury,  and  hath  taken  in- 
crease :  shall  he  then  live  ?  he  shall  not  live :  he  hath  done 
all  these  abominations ;  he  shall  surely  die ;  his  blood  shall 
be  upon  him. 

The  case  here  supposed  is  that  of  an  apostate  and  recreant  son 
of  this  just  and  good  father.  He  is  wicked — all  the  more  so  for 
the  light  of  a  godly  and  just  example  which  he  perpetually  sins 

against. In  v.  10,  last  clause,  the  Hebrew  makes  prominent  the 

word  "brother,"  which  our  translators  construed  rather  harshly, 
thus ; — "  Who  doeth  deeds  that  are  brother  to  robbery  and  blood- 
shedding."  Usage  scarcely  sustains  this  construction,  and  v.  18 — a 
renewed  mention  of  the  same  case — forbids  it.  Better  thus ;  Who 
doeth  such  deeds  as  robbery  and  murder  to  his  hrother ;  i.  e.,  prob- 
ably to  his  brother-man — to  those  whom  he  is  bound  to  account  as 
his  brethren — a  thought  which  puts  his  sin  in  a  most  aggravated 

light. Shall  this  man  live  ?     Nay,  verily ;    by  no  means.     He 

shall  not  live  because  his  father  was  so  good  a  man.  For  this  very 
reason  is  his  guilt  the  greater,  and  therefore  for  this  reason  all  the 
more  shall  he  die.  His  blood  shall  be  on  his  own  head.  This  is 
justice,  and  thus  God  evinces  himself  just.—. — Of  this  case  also 
there  were  royal  examples  painfully  recent  and  fresh  in  every 
mind.  The  good  Josiah  had  three  wicked  sons  and  one  wicked 
grandson  who  filled  the  throne  after  him  till  their  crimes  sank  that 
throne  and  kingdom  in  ruin.  Did  they  live  in  the  favor  of  God  for 
their  good  father's  sake?  Utterly  far  from  it.  For  his  goodness, 
all  the  greater  was  their  sin  and  all  the  more  terrible  their  doom ! 

Manasseh  for  a  long  time  ran  the  same  career,  and  but  for  his 

late  repentance,  would  have  been  another  illustration  of  this  case. 

14.  Now  lo,  if  he  beget  a  son,  that  seeth  all  his  father's 
sins  which  he  hath  done,  and  considereth,  and  doeth  not 
such  like, 

15.  That  hath  not  eaten  upon  the  mountains,  neither  hath 
lifted  up  his  eyes  to  the  idols  of  the  house  of  Israel,  hath 
not  defiled  his  neighbor's  wife, 

16.  Neither  hath  oppressed  any,  hath  not  withholden  the 
pledge,  neither  hath  spoiled  by  violence,  bat  hath  given  his 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XVIII.  101 

bread  to  the  hungry,  and  hath  covered  the  naked  with  a 
garment, 

17.  That  hath  taken  off  his  hand  from  the  poor,  that  hath 
not  received  usury  nor  inrecase,  hath  executed  my  judg- 
ments, hath  walked  in  my  statutes ;  he  shall  not  die  for  the 
iniquity  of  his  father,  he  .shall  surely  live. 

Here  this  wicked  son  becomes  a  father,  and  has  a  son  who  sees, 
abhors,  and  forsakes  his  father's  sins.  This  case  came  directly  to 
the  main  point  of  the  proverb.  The  father  has  eaten  sour  grapes : 
shall  the  son's  teeth  be  blunted  thereb}^?  Shall  the  upright  son  die . 
for  the  sins  of  his  wicked  father?  Nay,  verily.  His  virtue  is 
really  the  greater  because  of  the  unpropitious  circumstances  under 

which  and  despite  of  which  it  has  been  developed. "That  hath 

taken  off  his  hand  from  the  poor,"   means,  hath  taken  off  a  hard 

hand — one  that  is  overbearing,  oppressive. Here  let  us  specially 

note  that  the  Lord  confronts  the  implication  of  the  proverb  by  ex- 
plicitly affirming  that  he  always,  sooner  or  later,  deals  with  indi- 
vidual men  according  to  their  own  personal  guilt  or  innocence. 
From  this  just  principle  he  never  deviates.     This  is  what  justice 

demands — is   what    the  just  God    invariably    does. The   royal 

family  furnished  examples  to  fill  this  case.  Hezekiah  succeeded 
the  wicked  Ahaz ;  Josiah,  the  wicked  Amon;  but  neither  followed 
his  father's  crimes.  Each  turned  away  from  the  wicked  course  of 
his  father  and  did  what  was  lawful  and  right;  and  each  lived 
thereby. 

18.  As  for  his  father,  because  he  cruelly  oppressed, 
spoiled  his  brother  by  violence,  and  did  that  which  is  not 
good  among  his  people,  lo,  even  he  shall  die  in  his  iniquity. 

To  make  the  application  of  this  case  to  the  proverb  the  more 
palpable,  the  prophet  recurs  again  to  the  ungodly  father,  described 
fully  vs.  10-13.  He,  being  a  wicked  man,  must  die  in  his  iniquity. 
His  own  sins  demand  this  terrible  doom!  His  doom  is  in  no  sense 
mitigated  by  his  having  a  godly  son.  Ahaz  and  Amon  were  none 
the  more  favored  of  God  for  having  such  sons  as  Hezekiah  and 
Josiah. 

19.  Yet  say  ye.  Why?  doth  not  the  son  bear  the  iniquity 
of  the  father?  When  the  son  hath  done  that  ^^lich  is  law- 
ful and  right,  and  hath  kept  all  my  statutes,  and  hath  done 
them,  he  shall  surely  live. 

20.  The  soul  that  sinneth,  it  shall  die.  The  son  shall 
not  bear  the  iniquity  of  the  father,,  neither  shall  the  father 
bear  the  iniquity  of  the  son :  the  righteousness  of  the  right- 
eous shall  be  upon  him,  and  the  wickedness  of  the  wicked 
shall  be  upon  him. 

The  prophet  here  supposes  the  people  to  reaffirm  their  position, 


102  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XVIII. 

though  somewhat  modestly,  and  in  the  form  only  of  a  question. 
]3ut  after  all  you  have  said,  is  it  not  true  that  sons  bear  the  iniquity 

of  their  fathers  f The  Lord  answers ;  When  the  son,  even  of  a 

wicked  father,  does  right,  he  shall  live.  The  soul  that  sinneth 
(and  he  oiiIt/)  shall  die.  Tlie  son  shall  not  bear  the  iniquity  of  the 
father,  nor  the  father,  the  iniquity  of  the  son.  The  righteousness 
of  the  righteous  shall  determine  his  destiny:  the  wickedness  of  the 
Avicked  shall  decide  his  doom. 

21.  But  if  the  wicked  will  turn  from  all  his  sins  that  he 
hath  committed,  and  keep  all  my  statutes,  and  do  that 
which  is  law^ful  and  right,  he  shall  surely  live,  he  shall  not 
die. 

22.  All  his  transgressions  that  he  hath  committed,  they 
shall  not  be  mentioned  unto  him:  in  his  righteousness  that 
he  hath  done  he  shall  live. 

The  people  doubtless  made  use  of  this  proverb  and  of  its  un- 
just implication  of  wrong  on  God's  part,  to  relieve  their  Conscience 
from  the  pressure  of  obligation  to  repent.  Hence  the  tone  of  these 
and  the  following  verses  bears  directly  to  the  point  of  counteract- 
ing this  influence  and  of  persuading  them  to  repent.  Though  you 
have  sinned,  yet  if  you  will  turn  from  all  your  sin  and  do  only 
right,  you  shall  live  and  not  die.  All  your  transgressions  shall  be 
forgiven  and  not  be  mentioned  any  more  against  you.  Because  of 
the  new  moral  course  unto  which  ye  turn,  ye  shall  live.  It  was  vital 
to  the  best  moral  results  that  the  people  should  see  that  repent- 
ance brings  salvation,  even  to  the  chief  of  sinners. Here  came 

in  the  strong  case  of  Manasseh,  who,  after  many  years  of  awfully 
wicked  life,  repented,  humbled  himself  greatly,  was  brought  back 
from  his  captivity  in  Babylon,  and  found  mercy  of  God.  See  the 
record  2  Chron.  33:  11-13,  18,  19.  'It  was  this  repentance  that 
averted  the  divine  judgments  from  himself  and  gave  a  ncAV  lease 
of  life  to  the  nation.  Because  of  this  repentance,  the  national 
ruin  was  delayed  for  yet  another  great  effort  toward  their  salvation. 

23.  Have  I  any  pleasure  at  all  that  the  wicked  should 
die?  saith  the  Lord  God  :  and  not  that  he  should  return 
from  his  w  ays,  and  live  ? 

Is  it  any  pleasure  to  me  that  the  wicked  man  should  die?  Is  it 
not  rather  my  supreme  pleasure  that  he  should  turn  from  his 
wicked  ways  and  so  should  live  ?  The  people  may  have  thought 
otherwise.  It  may  have  seemed  to  them  that  God  took  delight  in 
visiting  the  penalties  of  an  awful  death  on  the  wicked.  If  they 
had  thought  so,  they  did  not  know  the  heart  of  (Jod ;  they  had  en- 
tirely misapprchend(Kl  his  nature ;  they  had  never  seen  and  appre- 
ciated his  deep  eternal  love !  For,  the  most  glorious,  most  blessed 
truth  ever  revealed  of  God  to  this  sinning  world  is  here — that  God 
has  compassion  toward  even  very  guilty  sinners;  is  pained  and  not 
pleased  when  he  must  punish ;  is  delighted,  even  to  infinite  joy, 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XVIII.  103 

when  the  sinner  turns  from  his  wicked  ways  and  lives.  Out  of 
this  loving  compassion  came  the  scheme  of  atonement  through  the 
incarnation  and  death  of  his  OAvn  beloved  Son,  making  pardon  safe 
4o  his  kingdom — possible  without  peril  to  the  vital  interests  of  his 
government.  For  all  this,  let  the  heavens  rejoice  and  let  the  earth 
be  glad ! 

24.  But  when  the  righteous  turnetli  away  from  his  right- 
eousness, and  conimitteth  iniquity,  and  doeth  according  to 
all  the  abominations  that  the  wicked  man  doeth,  shall  he 
live?  All  his  righteousness  that  lie  hath  done  shall  not  be 
mentioned:  in  his  trespass  that  he  hath  trespassed,  and  in 
his  sin  that  he  hath  sinned,  in  them  shall  he  die. 

Still  another  phase  of  the  general  question  requires  notice.  Sup- 
pose a  man  has  lived  righteously  a  long  time  and  has  accumulated 
what  might  be  accounted  a  stock  of  righteousness.  If  then  he 
turns  from  his  righteousness  and  commits  iniquity,  shall  he  live? 
By  no  means.  All  his  stock  of  accumulated  righteousness  goes  for 
nothing — "shall  not  be  mentioned;"  in  his  sins  he  must  die.  So 
men  must  abandon  all  hope  of  God's  favor  on  the  ground  of  having 
once  done  right — if  they  turn  from  that  righteousness  and  commit 
iniquity. 

25.  Yet  ye  say.  The  way  of  the  Lord  is  not  equal.  Hear 
now,  O  house  of  Israel ;  Is  not  my  way  equal  ?  are  not  your 
ways  unequal? 

26.  When  a  righteous  man  turnetli  away  from  his  right- 
eousness, and  committeth  iniquity,  and  dietli  in  them ;  for 
his  iniquity  that  he  hath  done  shall  he  die. 

27.  Again,  when  the  wicked  man  turnetli  away  from  his 
wickedness  that  he  hath  committed,  and  doeth  that  which 
is  lawful  and  right,  he  shall  save  his  soul  alive. 

28.  Because  he  considereth,  and  turnetli  away  from  all 
his  transgressions  that  he  hath  committed,  he  shall  surely 
live,  he  shall  not  die. 

Here  the  implication,  tacitly  involved  in  the  proverb,  is  brought 
out  palpably — a  charge  of  injustice  in  God.  They  say  the  course 
of  God's  moral  administration  is  not  equitable.     It  violates  justice. 

This  is  the  charge  of  the  people  against  God. To  this  the  Lord 

replies,  squarely  asserting  the  perfect  justice  of  his  own  ways,  and 
the  injustice  of  theirs.     It  is  your  ways  that  are  unequal :  mine  are 

always  equal. The  points  of  argument  made  here  are  these  two : 

(1.)  That  a  righteous  man,  turning  from  his  righteousness  and  do- 
ing wrong,  shall  die  for  his  iniquity:  (2.)  That  a  wicked  man, 
considering  his  ways  and  turning  from  his  wickedness,  shall  surely 
live  and  not  die.  These  great  features  of  God's  moral  administra- 
tion  over  a  sinning  world   are   so   obviously  equitable;    they  so 


104  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XVIII. 

plainly  cover  the  whole  ground  of  justice  and  of  mercy,  and  so 
commend  themselves  to  every  man's  conscience  and  moral  sense 
as  intrinsically  rii!;ht  and  good,  that  they  are  naturally  the  end  of 
all  argument.     More  is  superfluous.  , 

29.  Yet  saith  the  house  of  Israel,  The  way  of  the  Lord 
is  not  equal.  O  house  of  Israel,  are  not  my  ways  equal? 
are  not  your  ways  unequal  ? 

30.  Therefore  I  will  judge  you,  O  house  of  Israel,  every 
one  according  to  his  ways,  saith  the  Lord  God.  Kepent, 
and  turn  yourselves  from  all  your  transgressions  ;  so  iniquity 
shall  not  be  your  ruin. 

31.  Cast  away  from  you  all  your  transgressions,  whereby 
ye  have  transgressed ;  and  make  you  a  new  heart  and  a  new 
spirit :  for  why  will  ye  die,  O  house  of  Israel  ? 

32.  For  I  have  no  pleasure  in  the  death  of  him  that 
dieth,  saith  the  Lord  God :  wherefore  turn  yourselves,  and 
live  ye. 

Yet  the  people  arc  supposed  to  reiterate  their  charge  of  injustice 
against  God.  The  Lord  reaffirms  his  perfect  justice  in  the  same 
terms  as  before,  v.  25 ;  declares  that  he  will  judge  them  every  one 
according  to  his  ways  ;  and  exhorts  them  therefore  to  repent  and 
turn    from   all   their   transgressions :    else   iniquity  must   be  their 

ruin.     So  doing,  it  shall  not  be. "Casting  away  all  trangres- 

sion,"  is  here  essentially  equivalent  to  "making  to  themselves  a 
new  heart  and  a  new  spirit."  The  putting  away  of  sin  supposes 
sin  to  be  abhorred,  supposes  that  the  heart  turns  to  God  to  obey 
and  to  love  him  supremely.  This  and  nothing  less  than  this,  God 
implies  in  this  exhortation ;  this  and  nothing  less  God  demands  of 
every  sinner,  and  demands  it  with  infinite  reason.  This  reason- 
able duty  God  presses  here  as  the  only  alternative  to  the  doom  of 
death.  IJo  this — for  why  will  ye  die,  O  house  of  Israel  ?  Do  this 
— else  you  must  die.,  past  all  mercy,  past  all  possibility  of  salvation. 
And  lohy  should  you  choose  death  ?  Why  doom  yourselves  to  so 
dire  an  end  when  life  is  before  you,  and  when  God  so  earnestly 
longs  to  see  you  turning  from  your  sins  to  accept  and  insure  it 

for   evermore ! And   this   is   truly   the   attitude   and    this   the 

language  of  the  All-glorious  Father  to  every  sinner !  No  one  need 
say;  "Huch  mercy  can  never  apply  to  me;  such  words  are  too  good 
to  be  said  of  me ! "  "  Whosoever  will,  let  him  take  the  water  of 
life  freely !  " 

Before  we  pass  on  from  this  great  discussion,  vindicating  the 
justice  of  God,  let  us  turn  our  attention  yet  more  distinctly  to  the 
circumstances  which  probably  gave  rise  to  the  proverb  and  note 
also  the  method  in  which  the  Lord  rebuts  its  implication  of  injus- 
tice.  In  those  ages,  idolatry  was  the  great  national  sin  of  the 

Jews — the  special  cause  of  the  judgments  of  God  on  their  city  and 
land.     In  the  second   command  of  the   decalogue,  the  recital  of 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XVIII.  105 

penalty  has  these  words;  "Visiting  the  iniquity  of  the  Withers  upon 
the  children  unto  the  third  and  fourth  generation  of  them  that  hate 
me."  Ex.  20:  5.  As  shown  above,  this  special  statement  was  pre- 
cisely fulj&lled  in  the  fact  that  the  sins  of  Manasseh  are  repeatedly 
represented  to  be  those  which  the  Lord  "could  not  pardon"  and 
must  punish ;  while  yet  the  punishment  in  the  form  of  dethrone- 
ment, captivity,  and  a  violent  death,  fell  upon  his  children  of  the 

third  and  fourth  generation. Now  it  was  probably  in  view  of 

these  facts  that  the  people  brought  into  current  use  this  proverb — 
cited  also  by  Jeremiah  (chap.  31 :  29,  30)  and  rebutted  there  in 
the  same  way  as  here.     Hoio  does  the  Lord  reply  and  rebut  this 

allegation  ? Not  by  any  attempt,  even  the  least,  to  explain  the 

philosophy  of  the  penalty  attached  to  the  second  commandment; 
not  by  showing  why  he  governs  nations  with  much  long-suffering 
and  waits  through  many  generations  of  individual  men,  far  down  in 
the  nation's  life,  still  pressing  his  agencies  for  reform  and  laboring 
to  save  the  whole  people  from  the  ruin  toward  which  they  are  tend- 
ing. Not  thus  does  he  condescend  to  debate  this  matter,  although 
he  might  have  done  so; — but  he  makes  his  response  directly  and 
squarely  practical^  to  the  heart  and  conscience  of  the  people.  He 
says  to  them  virtually.  There  is  no  need  just  now  that  ye  concern 
yourselves  with  the  policy  of  God  in  his  government  of  nations  as 
such.  Suffice  it  for  you  that  ye  personally  stand  or  fall  before  God 
on  your  individual  life.  With  every  individual  man,  whether  king 
or  subject,  I  deal  in  perfect  equity,  never  punishing  any  one  sin- 
ner for  the  guilt  of  another  sinner;  never  the  son  for  the  sins  of 
his  father.  Do  right  and  you  live :  but  persist  in  sinning,  turn 
from  righteousness  to  sin,  and  you  surely  die.  I  have  no  pleasure 
in  your  death;  I  long  to  see  you  repenting  and  living  righteously 
with  a  new  heart  and  a  new  spirit.     So  shall  my  heart  be  cheered 

and  gladdened  in  your  eternal  peace  and  life. This  was  the 

vital  thing  that  needed  to  be  said.  This  was  all  that  the  case  re- 
ally demanded.  This  rebutted  the  allegation  of  injustice  on  God's 
part,  and  brought  the  greatest  possible  pressure  upon  the  heart  and 
conscience  toward  repentance  and  salvation.  It  was  doubtless 
wise  in  God  to  omit  all  philosophical  discussion  upon  the  further 
question  of  his  policy  toward  nations  as  such^  and  to  hold  their 
attention  simply  and  closely  to  the  one  far  greater  theme — their 

own  personal  responsibilities,  perils,  and  possibilities  of  life. 

But  as  already  hinted,  the  Lord  might  have  replied  by  expounding 
the  philosophy  of  that  remarkable  penalty  attached  to  the  second 
commandment.  He  might  have  said — Nations  are  not  precisely  the 
same  as  individuals.  A  nation's  life  runs  through  a  period  which 
includes  the  lifetime  of  many  individual  generations.  Why  may  I 
not  exercise  long-suffering  toward  a  nation  as  well  as  toward  an  in- 
dividual ?  And  hence,  what  can  forbid  my  bearing  with  a  nation 
through  several  generations  of  fathers  and  sons,  plying  every  moral 
agency  to  turn  them  from  their  sins  to  righteousness?  Especially, 
he  might  have  said;  What  principle  of  justice  is  violated,  provided 
that  always  and  every-whcre,  sooner  or  later,  I  deal  with  every  in- 


106  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XIX. 

dividual  sinner  in  that  nation,  king  or  subject,  according  to  his  per- 
sonal deserts? The  retribution  of  nations  as  such  is  not  closed 

up  and  exhausted  each  successive  day  nor  each  year,  nor  in  each 
generation.  It  waits  far  into  the  nation's  life  for  its  fullness  of 
time,  much  as  God  waits  upon  some  one  individual  sinner  past 
many  sins,  through  many  months  or  years  it  may  be  of  his  sinning, 
yet  never  loses  sight  of  his  case; 'never  fails  to  administer  perfect 

justice  in  the  end. Thus  are  the  ways  of  the  Lord  true  and 

righteous  altogether.  Thus  the  laws  of  his  moral  administration 
over  nations  are  in  some  respects  peculiar  and  unique,  resting  on 
their  own  good  reasons,  and  having  evermore  due  regard  to  what  is 

peculiar  in  the  life  of  nations  as  such  in  this  world. Still  further, 

let  us  recur  again  to  the  fact  that  the  sins  of  Manasseh  were  made 
prominent  as  involving  the  nation  in  guilt  which  the  Lord  could  not 
pardon ;  also,  that  in  the  event  the  national  ruin  fell  on  his  children 
of  the  third  and  fourth  generation;  and  that  this  fact  may  have 
had  some  influence  to  bring  into  vogue  the  proverb  which  leads  the 
discussion  in  this  chapter.  Here  then  note  that  this  discussion 
brings  out  the  very  principle  on  which  the  Lord  spared  Manasseh. 
He  repented ;  broke  of  his  si7is  by  righteousyicss ;  and  found  mercy. 
The  case  was  one  of  exceedingly  great  and  rich  moral  power  as  an 
encouragement  to  the  vilest  of  sinners  to  return  to  the  Lord  their 
God.  Was  it  not,  at  least  mainly,  for  the  sake  of  affording  scope 
for  the  influence  of  this  example  that  the  Lord  delayed  the  infliction 
of  his  judgments  upon  the  nation,  and  yet  prolonged  their  space  for 

repentance! In  this  point  the  Lord  has  the  same   policy  with 

nations  as  with  individuals,  suddenly  arresting  his  judgments  at  the 
very  moment  when  they  are  ready  to  smite  the  guilty,  if  any  new 
circumstances  inspire  fresh  hope  or  develop  some  yet  untried  influ- 
ence which  may  possibly  lead  to  repentance.  Manasseh' s  long-con- 
tinued wickedness  had  depraved  and  almost  sunk  the  nation;  his 
late  repentance  cast  a  gleam  of  hope  athwart  the  darkness;  and  God 
therefore  not  only  spared  him,  but  postponed  his  annihilating  judg- 
ments for  the  sake  of  one  other  earnest  eflPort  to  reclaim  and  save  a 
guilty  people. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


This  chapter  sets  before  the  exiles  the  fall  of  the  royal  house  of 
Judah  and  ultimately  of  the  nation.  AVitli  liigh  poetic  beauty  this 
is  done  by  conceiving  of  the  whole  people  as  "  thy  mother;"  of  this 
mother  as  first  a  lioness  who  puts  her  young  lions  one  after  another 
on  the  throne:  and  next,  as  a  vine  whose  strong  shoots  become 
scepters  for  her  kings,  but  which  is  finally  itself  plucked  up  in 
fury,  dried  by  the  cast  wind,  and  burned  in  the  fire.  80  perish 
the  kings  of  Judah,  the  people  also,  and  the  whole  frame  of  organ- 
ized society  and  government — a  cluster  of  painful  facts  taken  up 
here  for  a  lamentation  among  the  exiles  of  Chaldea. Some  of 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XIX.  107 

these  events  had  already  transpired :  the  rest  of  them  were  near  at 
band.  There  was  no  hope  of  saving  these  exiles  morally  and  spir- 
itually without  bringing  to  bear  upon  them  the  entire  moral  power 
of  those  judgments  with  Avhich  God  was  scourging  and  wasting 
their  mother  people  and  country.  Hence  these  topics  appear  in 
Ezekiel  "line  upon  line,"  reiterated  with  wonderful  variety  of  rep- 
resentation, and  we  might  say,  in  forms  which  exhaust  the  entire 
wealth  of  sj^mbols  and  figures  known  to  Hebrew  or  Chaldean  lit- 
•  erature. 

1.  Moreover  take  thou  up  a  lamentation  for  the  j)i*inces 
of  Israel, 

2.  And  say,  What  is  thy  mother  ?  A  lioness :  she  lay 
down  among  lions,  she  nourished  her  whelps  among  young 
lions. 

"Take  up,"  in  the  sense  of  prepare  and  present  to  the  exiles; 
announce  and  record  it,  for  their  moral  instruction.  Since  the 
theme  is  one  of  bitter  sorrow,  let  it  be  an  ekg^/,  to  be  used  in  pub- 
lic lamentation  over  the  fall  of  their  mother  country. "  For  the 

princes   of  Israel,"    refers   to  the    kings  on  the   throne  of  David. 

Ezekiel  currently  uses  the  word  "prince"  for  those  kings. The 

term  "Israel"  looks  not  to  the  kingdom  of  the  ten  tribes,  now  ex- 
tinct, but  rather,  back  to   David,   to  indicate  the  fall  of  the  last 

kings  in  his  line. Naturally,  "mother"  represents  the  people,  as 

"daughter"  often  does  the  chief  cities,  especially  Jerusalem. 

The  lion,  king  of  beasts,  fitly  represents  a  king  in  the  nation.  The 
figure  was  at  home  in  Chaldea,  as  is  shown  by  their  abundant  use 
of  it,  evinced  at  this  day  in  the  ruins  of  their  cities  and  temples. 

3.  And  she  brought  up  one  of  her  whelps :  it  became  a 
young  lion,  and  it  learned  to  catch  the  prey;  it  devoured 
men. 

4.  The  nations  also  heard  of  him ;  he  was  taken  in  their 
pit,  and  they  brought  him  with  chains  unto  the  land  of 
Egypt. 

This  first  young  lion-king  was  Jehoahaz,  recognized  by  three 
marks: — (1.)  He  was  the  first  among  the  sons  of  Josiah  to  succeed 
him  on  his  throne,  and  is  the  first  in  order  here:  (2.)  He  was  put 
on  the  throne  by  the  people,  as  the  history  specially  affirms,  2  Kings 
23:  30,  and  2  Chron.  36:  1 :  (3.)  He  and  he  only,  having  been 
deposed  by  Pharoah  Necho,  was  carried  (as  here  stated)  to  Egypt 

and  died  there. The   figure   is  carried  out  to  the   life.     This 

young  lion  caught  the  ways  of  lion-kings ;  he  "  learned  to  catch  the 
prey  and  devoured  men."  Even  the  original  word  for  "  chain  "keeps 
up  the  figure,  denoting  the  hook  or  ring  fixed  in  the  nose  of  wild 
animals  to  control  them. 

5.  Now,  when  she  saw  that  she  had  Avaited,  and  her  hope 


108  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XIX. 

was  lost,  she  took  another  of  her  whelps,  and  made  him  a 
young  lion. 

6.  And  he  went  up  and  down  among  the  lions,  he  be- 
came a  young  lion,  and  learned  to  catch  the  prey,  and  'de- 
voured men. 

7.  And  he  knew  their  desolate  palaces,  and  he  laid  waste 
their  cities ;  and  the  land  was  desolate,  and  the  fullness 
thereof,  by  the  noise  of  his  roaring. 

8.  Then  the  nations  set  against  him  on  every  side  from 
the  provinces,  and  spread  their  net  over  him :  he  was  taken 
in  their  pit. 

9.  And  they  put  him  in  ward  in  chains,  and  brought  him 
to  the  king  of  Babylon :  they  brought  him  into  holds,  that 
his  voice  should  no  more  be  heard  upon  the  mountains  of 
Israel. 

This  second  young  lion  is  not  Jehoiakim,  tlie  immediate  successor 
of  Jehoahaz,  but  is  Jehoiachin,  his  son.  For  the  former  (the 
father)  was  put  on  the  throne,  not  by  the  people,  but  l)y  the  king 
of  Babylon;  and  he  seems  not  to  have  been  carried  to  Babylon, 
but  to  have  died  in  disgrace  at  Jerusalem.  See  Jer.  22:  18,  19 
and  36 :  30.  On  the  other  hand,  Jehoiachin  was  in  favor  with  the 
people,  and  for  aught  that  appears  was  put  on  the  throne  by  them ; 
was  taken  captive  to  Babylon  and  remained  there  in  captivity  at 
least  thirty-seven  years ;  and  finally  his  fall  was  specially  afflictive 
to  the  exiles.  They  had  many  fond  hopes  of  his  restoration.  See 
Lam.  4 :  20.      The  people  hoped  that  Jehoahaz  might  be  restored 

to  them,  till  this  hope  perished  (v.  5). In  v.  7  the  word  rendered 

"desolate  palaces,"  stands  in  our  Hebrew  text,  widows.  If  this 
reading  be  accepted,  the  word  "knew"  must  mean  violated,  giving 
us  a  dark  view  of  his  moral  purity. 

10.  Thy  mother  is  like  a  vine  in  thy  blood,  planted  by 
the  waters :  she  was  fruitful  and  full  of  branches  by  reason 
of  many  waters. 

11.  And  she  had  strong  rods  for  the  scepters  of  them  that 
bare  rule,  and  her  stature  was  exalted  among  the  thick 
branches,  and  she  appeared  in  her  height  with  the  multi- 
tude of  her  branches. 

12.  But  she  was  plucked  up  in  fury,  she  was  cast  down 
to  the  ground,  and  the  east  wind  dried  up  her  fruit :  her 
strong  rods  were  broken  and  withered ;  the  fire  consumed 
them. 

13.  And  now  she  is  planted  in  the  Avilderness,  in  a  dry 
and  thirsty  ground. 

14.  And  fire  is  gone  out  of  a  rod  of  her  branches, 
which  hath  devoured  her  fruit,  so  that  she  hath  no  strong 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XX.  109 

rod  to  he  a  scepter  to  rule.  This  is  a  lamentation,  and  shall 
be  for  a  lamentation. 

By  a  sudden  change  of  figure  the  Jewish  people  become  a  vine-^ 
a  figure  of  somewhat  frequent  occurrence  in  the  Scriptures  and 
recently  used  by  Ezekiel  himself     See  chap.  15 :  6  and  17:6.     See 

also  Isa.  5:  1-7  and  27:  2-7;  Ps.  80:  8-16  and  Jer.  2:  21. 

Her  strong  shoots  are  scepters  for  kings,  and  virtually  in  the  fig- 
ure, represent  kings  themselves.  She  rose  to  prominence  among 
the  nations,  but  she  was  suddenly  plucked  up  by  the  fury  of  the 
Almighty.  The  east  wind — terribly  withering  in  that  climate — 
dried  up  her  roots :  her  strong  rods  (scepters)  were  broken,  and 

the  fires  of  divine  judgments  consumed  both  kings  and  people. 

A  few  of  her  people  had  been  taken  into  captivity — a  fact  repre- 
sented here  by  her  being  transplanted  to  a  wilderness  and  set  in 
a  dry  and  thirsty  ground.  Her  last  king,  Zedekiah,  by  his  treach- 
ery to  the  king  of  Babylon,  had  brought  down  the  final  stroke  of 
vengeance — corresponding  to  a  fire  going  out  from  one  of  the  rods 
(scepters)  of  her  foliage,  which  devoured  her  fruit,  so  that  she  had 
no  successor  for  her  throne.  The  royal  house  is  utterly  broken 
down.     The  throne  of  Judah  is  in  ruins.     To  the  Hebrew  exiles, 

this  was  and  should  still  be  "for  a  lamentation." In  v.  10  the 

word  translated  "in  thy  blood,"  involves  great  critical  difficulties. 
Probably  the  reading  is  not  correct.  What  it  should  be,  it  is  per- 
haps impossible  to  determine  with  certainty.  Fortunately  no  sen- 
timent of  special  importance  is  involved  in  the  question.  Gesenius 
says,  most  probably  thus; — "like  a  vine  of  thy  vineyard."  Others 
variously. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

This  chapter,  with  a  new  date,  has  its  special  occasion — the 
coming  of  certain  elders  of  Israel  to  inquire  of  the  Lord  through 
the  prophet.  It  has  also  its  special  strain  of  reply — essentially  a 
resume  or  historical  review  of  the  great  trials  which  the  Lord 
experienced  with  the  Hebrew  people  on  the  point  of  their  pro- 
pensity to  idolatry,  showing  that,  over  and  over  again,  he  had  for- 
l3idden  them  to  worship  idols,  had  solemly  sworn  that  he  would 
exterminate  them  with  his  judgments  for  this  sin,  but  had  spared 

them  for  his  great  mercy's  sake. As  a  historical  sketch,  the 

chapter  corresponds  somewhat  closely  with  Neh.  9 ;  Ps.  78 ;  and 
the  speech  of  Stephen  in  Ac.  7.  Here  preeminently  the  historical 
facts  cited  bear  on  the  great  points  now  present  and  prominent — 
viz.,  that  the  people  were  strangely  infatuated  toAvard  idolatry; 
that  they  had  been  on  the  verge  of  national  ruin  repeatedly  for 
this  sin;  and  that  they  had  been  spared  only  through  the  great 
mercy  of  God  and  to  save  the  honor  of  his  throne  before  the  hea- 
then ;  and  not  at  all  for  their  own  sake  or  merit. 


110  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XX. 

1.  And  it  came  to  pass  in  the  seventh  year,  in  the  fifth 
month,  the  tenth  day  of  the  month,  that  certain  of  the  elders 
of  Israel  came  to  inquire  of  the  Lord,  and  sat  before  me. 

This  new  date  is  about  eleven  months  later  than  the  last  named 

— (8:  1). It  is  obvious  both  from  the  strain  of  the  chapter  and 

from  the  relation  of  these  exiles  to  their  fatherland  that  they  came 
to  inquire  of  the  Lord,  not  specially  for  themselves,  but  for  their 
nation  and  their  beloved  but  now  doomed  city.  The  Lord's  reply 
is  not  this:  "I  can  not  hear  you  in  the  thing  you  ask  for  your- 
selves;" but,  "I  can  not  spare  that  guilty  nation!" They  came 

and  sat  before  the  prophet  to  confer  with  him  in  the  matter,  and 
probably  to  enlist  his  sympathies  with  iheir  own  if  they  could. 

2.  Then  came  the  word  of  the  Lord  unto  me,  saying, 

3.  Son  of  man,  speak  unto  the  elders  of  Israel,  and  say 
unto  them.  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God ;  Are  ye  come  to  in- 
quire of  me  ?  As  1  live,  saith  the  Lord  God,  I  will  not  be 
inquired  of  by  you. 

The  Lord  understood  their  thought  before  their  words  had  dis- 
closed it  and  promptly  replied  with  a  most  solemn  refusal.  The 
doom  of  the  guilty  people  and  city  was  fixed  and  no  prayer  could 
reverse  it.     txod  "would  not  pardon."     See  2  Kings  24:  4,  Ezek. 

14,  and  Jer.  15,  and  7:    16,  and  11:    14,  and  14:^11. On  the 

clause,  "I  will  not  be  inquired  of  by  you,"  Jerome  has  this  fine 
comment :  "  To  the  holy  and  to  those  who  ask  for  right  things,  the 
promise  is  given ;  '  While  they  are  yet  speaking,  I  will  say — Here 
I  am.'  But  to  sinners,  such  as  these  elders  of  Israel  were,  and  as 
those  whose  sins  the  prophet  proceeds  to  describe,  no  answer  is 
given,  but  only  a  fierce  rebuke  for  their  sins,  to  which  He  adds 
his  oath;  'As  I  live,'  to  strengthen  his  solemn  refusal." 

4.  AVilt  thou  judge  them,  son  of  man,  wilt  thou  judge 
themf  cause  them  to  know  the  abominations  of  their  fa- 
thers : 

This  question,  "Wilt  thou  judge  them?"  can  not  be  taken  as 
implying  that  he  ought  not  to  do"  it,  thus ;  Wilt  thou  do  a  thing 
so  wrong  as  to  judge  them?  On  the  contrary,  it  manifestly  implies 
an  aflirmative  and  enjoins  the  duty  of  judging  them.  The  Hebrew 
interrogative  particle  used  here  sometimes  implies  a  negative  particle 
with  it;  e.  g.^  Jer.  31 :  20 — "Is  {i.  e.,  is  7iot)  Ephraim  my  dear  son?" 
Is  he  (not)  a  pleasant  child?"     Also  Job  20:  4:  "Knowest  thou 

(not)  this  of  old  that  the  triumphing  of  the  wicked  is  short?" 

"Judge,"  is  here  used  in  the  forensic  sense — bring  them  to  trial; 
prefer  charges  against  them;  recite  the  catalogue  of  their  crimes; 
and,  as  the  parallel  clause  has  it,  show  them  the  abominable  sins 

of  their   fathers. This   v.    4   indicates   the   course   of   thought 

throughout  vs.  5-32.     Instead  of  allowing  himself  to  be  inquired 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XX.  Ill 

of  in  prayer  to  avert  his  threatened  judgments  against  the  Jews, 
the  Lord  directs  the  prophet  to  set  before  these  elders  the  lon<r 
record  of  their  national  sins  and  provocations. 

5.  And  say  unto  them,  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God ;  In  the 
day  when  I  chose  Israel,  and  lifted  up  my  hand  unto  the 
seed  of  the  house  of  Jacob,  and  made  myself  known  unto 
them  in  the  land  of  Egypt,  when  I  lifted  up  my  hand  unto 
them,  saying,  I  a7n  the  Lord  your  God ; 

6.  In  the  day  that  I  lifted  up  my  hand  unto  them,  to 
bring  them  forth  of  the  land  of  Egypt  into  a  land  that  I 
had  espied  for  them,  flowing  with  milk  and  honey,  Avhich  is 
the  glory  of  all  lands: 

7.  Then  said  I  unto  them.  Cast  ye  away  every  man  the 
abominations  of  his  eyes,  and  defile  not  yourselves  with  the 
idols  of  Egypt :  I  a7n  the  Lord  your  God. 

"  Chose  Israel."  See  Deut.  7:  6-8  and  14:  2.  "  For  thou  art  an 
holy  people  unto  the  Lord  thy  God.  The  Lord  hath  chosen  thee  to 
be  a  special  people  unto  himself  above  all  people  that  are  upon  the 
face  of  the  earth,"  etc. "Lifted  up  mine  hands,"  i.  e.,  in  the  sol- 
emn oath,  as  in  Deut.  32:  40,  "For  I  lift  up  my  hand  to  heaven 

and  say,  'I  live  forever:'  "  or  Dan.  12:  7  and  Rev.  10:  5. "Had 

espied,"  i.  e.,  explored  and  selected. In  these  verses  and  in  their 

context,  it  is  implied  that  while  yet  the  people  were  in  Egypt,  the 
Lord  solemnly  admonished  them  against  idolatry,  but  they  would 
not  hear.  The  Scripture  narrative  omits  this,  except  in  so  far  as 
it  may  be  implied  in  the  proposal  to  go  out  from  Egypt  into  the 
desert  to  offer  sacrifice  unto  the  Lord  their  God.  Yet  there  can 
be  no  doubt  of  the  fact  that  even  there  in  Egypt  the  Lord  admon- 
ished his  people  against  being  seduced  into  the  worship  of  their 
idols. 

8.  But  they  rebelled  against  me,  and  would  not  hearken 
unto  me:  they  did  not  every  man  cast  away  the  abomina- 
tions of  their  eyes,  neither  did  they  forsake  the  idols  of 
Egypt:  then  I  said,  I  will  pour  out  my  fury  upon  them, 
to  accomplish  mine  anger  against  them  in  the  midst  of  the 
land  of  Egypt. 

9.  But  I  wrought  for  my  name's  sake,  that  it  should  not 
be  polluted  before  the  heathen,  among  whom  they  ivere,  in 
whose  sight  I  made  myself  known  unto  them,  in  bringing 
them  forth  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt. 

They  would  not  hearken  to  the  Lord:  hence  while  they  were 
in  Egypt,  the  Lord  solemnly  threatened  to  pour  out  his  fury  and 
to  exhaust  ("accomplish")  his  anger  upon  them.  But  he  spared 
and  saved  his  people  then  for  his  name's  sake,  that  the  heathen 
might  not  reproach  him  as  unable  to  save  his  own  people. 


112  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XX. 

10.  Wherefore  I  caused  them  to  go  forth  out  of  the  land. 
of  Egypt,  and  brought  them  into  the  wiklerness. 

11.  And  I  gave  them  my  statutes,  and  shewed  them  my 
judgments,  which  if  a  man  do,  he  shall  even  live  in  them. 

"Do  and  live,"  looks  to  that  stubborn  and  stringent  alternative  put 
by  the  Lord  through  Moses,  Dcut.  30:  15-20,  "See,  I  have  set  before 
thee  this  day  life  and  good — death  and  evil."  "I  call  heaven  and 
earth  to  record  this  day  against  you  that  I  have  set  before  you  life 

and  death,  blessing  and  cursing,"  etc. The  ancient  Chaldee  para- 

phrast  expands  the  last  clause  of  v.  11;  "He  shall  live  in  them  tvith 
eternal  life."  This  represents  the  current  theology  held  by  the  Jews 
on  this  point  before  and  near  the  Christian  era,  and  hence  has  an 
important  bearing  on  the  interpretation  of  our  Savior's  language  on 
this  subject.  It  shows  in  what  sense  his  language  must  have  been 
understood,  and  hence  in  what  sense  he  must  have  used  it.  ' 

12.  Moreover  also  I  gave  them  my  sabbaths,  to  be  a  sign 
between  me  and  them,  that  they  might  know  that  I  am  the 
Lord  that  sanctify  them. 

This  verse  is  specially  important  because  of  its  supposed  and  real 

bearings  on  the  nature  and  perpetuity  of  the  Sabbath. Why  is 

the  term  here  in  the  plural  form,  "  Sabbaths  1 "    Does  it  include  other 

festal  days  than  those  enjoined  in  the  fourth  commandment? 

Under  some  circumstances  it  might;  for  God  did  enjoin  upon  the 
Jews  other  seasons  of  rest  from  labor,  e.  g.,  during  the  three  great 
feasts;  on  the  great  day  of  atonement,  etc.  But  the  reference  in 
this  passage  to  Exo.  31 :  13-17  is  so  manifest  that  we  must  allow 
that  passage  to  interpret  this.  There  we  read,  "  Verily  my  sab- 
baths" (plural)  "  shall  ye  keep;"  yet  the  plural  refers  to  many  suc- 
cessive sabbaths — each  seventh  day — fifty-two  in  each  year;  and 
not  to  various  days  of  required  rest,  other  than  this  seventh  day. 
Hence  our  passage  in  Ezekiel  probably  speaks  only  of  the  day  en- 
joined in  the  fourth  command. In  what  sense  did  the  Lord  give 

the  Jews  the  seventh-day  sabbath  "  as  a  sign  f The  passage  in 

Exodus  reads;  "Verily  my  sabbaths  ye  shall  keep;  for  it  is  a  sign 
between  me  and  you  throughout  your  generations,  that  ye  may 
know  that  I  am  the  Lord  that  doth  sanctify  you."  "Wherefore 
the  children  of  Israel  shall  keep  the  Sabbath  to  observe  the  Sab- 
bath throughout  their  generations  for  a  perpetual  covenant.  It  is 
a  sign  between  me  and  the  children  of  Israel  forever ;  for  in  six 
days  the  Lord  made  heaven  and  earth,  and  on  the  seventh  day  he 
rested  and  was  refreshed." In  this  passage  the  word  '■'■sign'  man- 
ifestly means  a  standing  memorial  and  witness  of  his  relations  to 
his  people.  It  witnessed  that  he  would  have  them  imitate  himself 
in  his  sevenlh-day  rest  after  the  six  days'  work  of  creation,  and 
that  he  was  devoting  himself  to  their  sanctification  as  his  peo- 
ple ; — "  that  ye  may  knoAV  that  I  am  the  Lord  that  doth  sanctify 
you."    God  gave  them  the  Sabbath  to  indicate  these  relations:  they 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XX.  113 

should  observe  it  as  a  means  of  recognizing  these  relations  on 
their  part  and  of  responding  to  them  in  observing  the  duties  they 
involved. 

We  may  now  come  to  the  question  of  more  special  interest  in  our 
age.  Does  this  passage  thus  expounded,  or  indeed  on  any  just  ex- 
position, teach  that  the  Sabbath  is  exclusively  a  Jewish  institution  ? 
Was  it  Mosaic  or  even  Hebraic  in  such  a  sense  that  its  obligations 
ceased  with  the  expiration  of  that  system  and  have  no  binding  force 

in  the  Christian  age? 1  reply;  the  fact  that  God  enjoined  it 

upon  the  Hebrew  people  is  no  reason  why  he  should  not  enjoin  it 
also  upon  all  mankind.  On  the  contrary,  if  his  revealed  purposes 
and  objects  in  enjoining  it  upon  them  are  of  a  general  nature,  ap- 
plicable in  the  main  to  all  mankind,  then  his  enjoining  it  upon 
them  proves  it  to  be  binding  universally  on  the  race.  Now  it 
admits  of  ample  proof  that  the  reasons  given  of  God  for  enjoining 
the  observance  of  the  Sabbath — given  specially  in  the  fourth  com- 
mand itself,  and  in  the  passage  Exodus  31 :  13-17,  which  is  specially 
under  Ezekiel's  eye  in  our  text — are  of  universal  application.  The 
Great  Father  of  the  race  wrought  six  days  in  the  creation  and 
rested  the  seventh.  He  puts  his  own  example,  not  before  Israel 
only,  but  before  the  race,  and  invites — nay  more,  commands  them 
to  follow  it.  He  signifies  to  them  that  he  ivould  he  remembered  as 
their  Creator  and  Father,  and  would  have  them  set  apart  time  for 
an  object  so  vital.  Then  Ex.  31:  13-17  (cited  above)  develops  yet 
more  fully  the  thought  that  in  the  Sabbath  God  aims  to  sanctify  his 
people  and  to  make  it  a  visible  sign  of  a  special  relationship  be- 
tween himself  and  them.  Yet  here  let  it  be  carefully  noted,  it  is 
his  relation  to  them  not  as  Hebrews,  but  as  his  children,  his  peo- 
ple. All  these  points  are  general,  not  special;  good  for  the  race, 
not  restricted  and  of  value  to  the  Hebrews  only.  Indeed  they 
show  the  Sabbath  to  be  a  glorious  boon  which  no  tribe  or  nation  or 

age  can  afford  to  forego. Thus  far  the  discussion  of  this  great 

question  respecting  the  universal  obligation  of  the  Sabbath  as  a 
divine  institution  comes  fairly  within  the  province  of  the  expositor 
of  Ezekiel  because  it  is  legitimately  involved  in  the  sense  of  his 
words.  Other  points  bearing  on  the  question,  e.  g.^  its  institution 
in  Eden;  the  traces  of  it  in  the  seven-day  periods  during  the  deluge; 
its  existence  among  the  Hebrews  prior  to  its  announcement  from 
Sinai  (see  Exod.  16 :  22-30),  and  the  proofs  of  its  reindorscment 
in  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  age,  must  be  omitted  as  not  gcr- 
main  to  the  scope  of  this  commentary. 

13.  But  the  house  of  Israel  rebelled  against  me  in  the 
wilderness :  they  walked  not  in  my  statutes,  and  they  de- 
spised my  judgments,  which  ij  a  man  do,  he  shall  even  live 
in  them ;  and  my  sabbaths  they  greatly  polluted :  then  I 
said,  I  would  pour  out  my  fury  upon  them  in  the  wilder- 
ness, to  consume  them. 

14.  But  I  wrought  for  my  name's  sake,  that  it  should  not 


1X4  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XX. 

be  polluted  before  the  heathen,  in  whose  sight  I  brought 
them  out. 

15.  Yet  also  I  lifted  up  my  hand  unto  them  in  the  wil- 
derness, that  I  w^ould  not  bring  them  into  the  land  which 
I  had  given  them,  flowing  with  milk  and  honey,  which  is 
the  glory  of  all  lands ; 

16.  Because  they  despised  my  judgments,  and  walked  not 
in  my  statutes,  but  joolluted  my  sabbaths:  for  their  heart 
went  after  their  idols. 

17.  Nevertheless  mine  eye  spared  them  from  destroying 
them,  neither  did  I  make  an  end  of  them  in  the  wilder- 
ness. 

This  brief  reference  to  the  wilderness-life  of  the  children  of  Is- 
rael is  most  abundantly  confirmed  in  the  Pentateuch,  especially  in 
the  history  of  the  golden  calf,  Ex.  32  and  33,  and  in  the  unbelief 
and  murmuring  consequent  on  the  report  of  the  spies,  Num.  13 
and  14.  Sec  also  Ps.  78  and  95.  That  stage  of  Hebrew  life  was 
a  mournful  illustration  of  human  depravity,  and  especially  of  the 
corrupting  influence  exerted  upon  the  fathers  during  their  long 
residence  in  Egypt  and  long  familiarity  with  idol-worship  there. 

18.  But  I  said  unto  their  children  in  the  wilderness, 
Walk  ye  not  in  the  statutes  of  your  fathers,  neither  ob- 
serve their  judgments,  nor  defile  yourselves  with  their  idols: 

19.  I  am  the  Lord  your  God;  w^alk  in  my  statutes,  and 
keep  my  judgments,  and  do  them ; 

20.  And  hallow  my  sabbaths ;  and  they  shall  be  a  sign 
between  me  and  you,  that  ye  may  know  that  I  am  the  Lord 
your  God. 

21.  Notwithstanding  the  children  rebelled  against  me: 
they  walked  not  in  my  statutes,  neither  kept  my  judgments 
to  do  them,  wdiich  if  a  man  do,  he  shall  even  live  in  them : 
they  polluted  my  sabbaths :  then  I  said,  I  would  pour  out 
my  fury  upon  them,  to  accomplish  mine  anger  against  them 
in  the  wilderness. 

22.  Nevertheless  I  withdrew  my  hand,  and  wrought  for 
my  name's  sake,  that  it  should  not  be  polluted  in  the  sight 
of  the  heathen,  in  whose  sight  I  brought  them  forth. 

It  was  indeed  most  true  that  the  Lord  reiterated  his  admoni- 
tions, warnings  and  thrcatenings,  continually  during  the  forty  years' 
life  of  the  nation  in  the  wilderness.  It  was  one  constant  scene  of 
moral  labor  to  train  and  reform  the  people.  It  availed  in  great 
measure  to  save  the  children  and  youth — those  who  were  under 
twenty  years  of  age  when  they  came  out  of  Egypt;  but  seems  to 
have  mostly  failed  to  reclaim   those  more  advanced  in  years  and 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XX.  115 

more  confirmed  in  their   habits   of  thought  and   of  life. The 

strain  of  this  chapter  is  that  the  Lord's  patience  was  repeatedly 
tried  to  the  utmost,  so  that  he  was  often  on  the  point  of  extermi- 
nating the  guilty  people  by  his  swift  judgments;  but  restrained 
himself  through  his  great  mercy,  and  to  save  his  holy  name  from 
reproach  before  the  heathen  in  whose  sight  he  had  brought  them 

forth  from  Egypt  and  adopted  them  as  his  own  peculiar  people. 

This  view  of  their  national  history  was  eminently  pertinent  and 
forcible  for  Ezekiel's  time  and  for  the  circumstances  of  both  the 
exiles  and  their  brethren  then  just  on  the  brink  of  exterminating 
ruin  in  their  native  land. 

23.  I  lifted  up  my  hand  unto  them  also  in  the  wilder- 
ness, that  I  would  scatter  them  among  the  heathen,  and 
disperse  them  through  the  countries ; 

24.  Because  they  had  not  executed  my  judgments,  but 
had  despised  my  statutes,  and  had  polluted  my  sabbaths, 
and  their  eyes  were  after  their  fathers'  idols. 

25.  Wherefore  I  gave  them  also  statutes  that  were  not 
good,  and  judgments  whereby  they  should  not  live; 

26.  And  I  polluted  them  in  their  own  gifts,  in  that  they 
caused  to  pass  through  the  fire  all  that  openeth  the  womb, 
that  I  might  make  them  desolate,  to  the  end  that  they 
might  know  that  I  am  the  Lord. 

The  points  specially  requiring  attention  here  stand  in  vs.  25,  26. 
What  statutes  and  judgments  are  here  referred  to  ?  In  what  sense 
did  God  "give  them?"  And  for  what  purpose?  The  laws  of  lan- 
guage compel  us  to  take  the  words,  "Statutes  and  judgments"  in 
a  sense  similar  and  analogous  to  that  in  ■v\^ich  they  are  used  else- 
where throughout  this  chapter;  e.  g.^  in  vs.  11,  13,  16,  18,  19,  21, 
24, — yet  not  as  referring  to  precisely  and  identically  the  same  stat- 
utes and  judgments,  for  it  was  because  they  did  not  execute  those 
judgments  but  despised  them  (v.  24),  that  God  says  (v.  25),  "There- 
fore I  gave  them  also  statutes  not  good,"  etc.    Hence  the  latter  were 

somewliat  yet  not  altogether  different  from  the  former. These 

conditions  are  met  in  "the  Statutes  of  Omri,"  (See  Mic.  6 :  16,  where 
the  same  word  is  used  as  here  by  Ezekiel),  and  in  the  decree  of 
Jeroboam  (1  Kin^-s  12:   28-33).     These  were  royal  statutes  and 

judgments   establishing    idol-worship    by  public   authority. In 

what  sense  did  God  give  the  people  these  statutes? Only  in 

the  sense  of  suffering  their  wicked  kings  to  enjoin  them.  Not 
unfrequently  God  is  said  in  the  Scriptures  to  do  what  he  only 
permits  to  be  done.  He  was  said  to  harden  Pharaoh's  heart,  when, 
in  fact,  according  to  the  record,  he  only  suffered  him  to  harden  his 
owTi  heart,  and  when  the  most  direct  agency  which  he  exerted 
toward  that  result  was  in  removing  the  plagues  under  which  that 
proud  king  quailed  and  relented.  So  far  as  the  Scriptures  explain 
hoio  his  heart  was  hardened,  they  attribute  it  in  small  part  to  the 


116  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XX. 

influence  of  his  own  magicians,  but  in  large  part,  to  the  divine 
mercy  in  lifting  the  plagues  from  him  and  from  his  land.  See  the 
former  in  Ex.  7:  10-13,  22,  and  the  latter,  in  Ex.  8:  15,  32,  ai^d 

9 :  34,  35,  and   10 :   19,  20. According  to  the  doctrine  of  the 

Scriptures,  God's  agencies  in  some  form  reach  all  events.  Some 
events  he  brings  to  pass  without  the  intermediate  agency  of  his 
creatures ;  some,  with  such  intermediate  agency.  In  the  latter 
class,  his  own  work  is  often  only  jjermissive — suffering  these  in- 
termediate agents  to  do  what  they  choose  to  do.     In  this  case  the 

Lord  is  said  sometimes  to  do  them. It  remains  to  inquire — For 

ivhat  purpose  in  this  case  did  the  Lord  give  the  people  "statutes 

not  good  and  judgments  whereby  they  should  not  live?" The 

passage  itself  supplies  the  answer.  Because  they  did  not  execute 
his  judgments  but  despised  his  statutes,  polluted  his  Sabbaths  and 
set  their  eyes  on  their  fathers'  idols,  therefore  God  suffered  them 
to  be  ensnared  into  deeper  idolatry  by  the  royal  influence  of  Jero- 
boam, Ahab,  Omri,  and  Manasseh.  It  was  a  divine  judgment  upon 
them  for  their  persistent  love  of  idols.  The  Lord  gave  them  their 
way  to  let  them  see  and  to  let  all  the  world  in  coming  ages  see 
what  idolatry  is;  what  it  leads  to;  how  fearfully  it  curses  a  peo- 
ple of  itself,  and  how  terribly  God  will  punish  it.  On  the  same 
principle  God  gave  up  the  heathen  nations  to  idolatry  and  to  deep 
moral  corruption.  So  Paul  affirms  Rom.  1:  21,  24,  26,  28,  in  the 
language;  "Because  that  when  they  knew  God,  they  glorified  him 
not  as  God,  neither  were  thankful,  but  became  vain  in  their  imag- 
inations, and  their  foolish  heart  was  darkened:"  ^^  Wherefore^  i.  e., 
for  this  reason,  God  gave  them  up  to  uncleanness,"  etc.  "For  this 
cause  God  gave  them  up  to  vile  affections."  "And  even  as  they  did 
not  like  to  retain  God  in  their  knowledge,  God  gave  them  over  to 
a  reprobate  mind."  Paul  also  develops  the  same  law  of  God's 
moral  administration  in* 2  Thess.  2:  11;  "And  for  this  cause  God 
shall  send  them  strong  delusion  that  they  should  believe  a  lie."  So 
far  as  we  can  know,  this  may  be  a  necessary  measure  of  policy  in  a 
moral  government,  to  give  some  persistent  sinners  a  larger  range  for 
possible  sin  and  less  restraint,  that  they  may  exemplify  for  the  warn- 
ing of  others  the  fearful  power  of  sin  on  the  soul  and  its  terrible  and 
certain  curse  in  the  lino  both  of  natural  conseqences  and  of  divine 
judgments  therefor.  Hence  no  reasonable  objection  can  lie  against 
the  All-wise  and  All-good  Ruler  of  the  moral  universe  for  this  pol- 
icy.  The  scope  of  this  passage,  v.  25,  appears  also  in  v.  39. 

V.  2G  bears  the  same  interpretation  and  sustains  it.  I  suffered 
them  to  become  more  and  more  polluted  in  their  gifts  at  the  shrine 
of  their  idols  even  to  the  extent  of  burning  to  death  all  their  first- 
born sons  and  daughters,  consecrating  them  to  ]\loloch  and  Saturn 
and  not  to  God.  1  did  this  in  order  that  I  might  bring  utter  des- 
olation on  their  land,  under  which  desolation  both  they  themselves 
and  all  men  should  learn  that  I  am  the  Lord.  An  evil  so  horrible 
as  this  virus  of  idolatry  must  be  suftercd  to  ripen  and  develop  it- 
self into  its  legitimate  fruits  before  its  punishment  could  have  the 
highest  and  best  moral  effects. 


I 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XX.  117 

27.  Therefore,  son  of  man,  speak  unto  the  house  of  Israel, 
^nd  say  unto  them,  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God ;  Yet  in  this 
your  fathers  have  blasphemed  me,  in  that  they  have  com- 
mitted a  trespass  against  me. 

28.  For  when  I  had  brought  them  into  the  land,  for  the 
which  I  lifted  up  my  hand  to  give  it  to  them,  then  they 
saw  every  high  hill,  and  all  the  thick  trees,  and  they  offered 
there  their  sacrifices,  and  there  they  presented  the  j)rovoca- 
tion  of  their  offering:  there  also  they  made  their  sweet 
savor,  and  poured  out  there  their  drink-offerings. 

29.  Then  I  said  unto  them,  What  is  the  high  place 
whereunto  ye  go  ?  And  the  nam^  thereof  is  called  Bamah 
unto  this  day. 

"Yet  in  this"  same  idol-worship,  your  fathers  have  blasphemed 
me — provoked  and  insulted  me  exceedingly;  for  when  I  brought 
them  into  the  goodly  land  of  Canaan,  they  sought  out  every  beau- 
tiful location,  every  high  hill  and  thick  grove,  and  located  their  idol- 
worship  there.  Then  I  said  to  them.  Why  go  ye  to  those  high 
places  rather  than  to  the  temple,  the  "one  place"  which  God  had 
ordained?  What  special  attraction  draws  you  thither?  But  they 
answer  only  by  persisting  in  their  custom,  and  by  giving  those  high 

places  a  distinguished  name  unto  this  day. The  significance  of 

this  V.  29,  seems  to  be  that  God  protested  against  those  locaHties  for 
worship ;  but  the  people  insisted  and  still  kept  up  the  usage  under 
that  name  well  known  among  themselves  and  deeply  offensive  and 
odious  to  their  God.  In  harmony  with  this  the  Psalmist  says  (78  : 
58),  "For  they  provoked  him  to  anger  with  their  high  places." 

30.  Wherefore  say  unto  the  house  of  Israel,  Thus  saith 
the  Lord  God;  Are  ye  polluted  after  the  manner  of  your 
fathers?  and  commit  ye  whoredom  after  their  abomina- 
tions ? 

31.  For  when  ye  offer  your  gifts,  when  ye  make  your  sons 
to  pass  through  the  fire,  ye  pollute  yourselves  with  all  your 
idols,  even  unto  this  day:  and  shall  I  be  inquired  of  by 
you,  O  house  of  Israel?  As  I  live,  saith  the  Lord  God,  I 
will  not  be  inquired  of  by  you. 

Are  not  ye  of  this  generation  as  deeply  polluted  as  your  fathers 
ever  were?  And  now,  shall  I  be  inquired  of  by  you?  By  no 
means. 

32.  And  that  which  cometh  into  your  mind  shall  not  be 
at  all,  that  ye  say,  We  will  be  as  the  heathen,  as  the  fam- 
ilies of  the  countries,  to  serve  wood  and  stone. 

33.  As  I  live,  saith  the  Lord  God,  surely  with  a  mighty 


118  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XX. 

hand,  and  with  a  stretchcd-out  arm,  and  with  fury  poured 
out,  will  I  rule  over  you  : 

34.  And  I  will  bring  you  out  from  the  people,  and  will 
gather  you  out  of  the  countries  wherein  ye  are  scattered, 
with  a  mighty  hand,  and  with  a  stretched-out  arm,  and  wuth 
fury  poured  out. 

35.  And  I  will  bring  you  into  the  wilderness  of  the  peo- 
ple, and  there  will  I  plead  with  you  face  to  face. 

36.  Like  as  I  pleaded  with  your  fathers  in  the  wilderness 
of  the  land  of  Egypt,  so  will  I  plead  with  you,  saith  the 
Lord  God. 

37.  And  I  will  cause  you  to  pass  under  the  rod,  and  I 
will  bring  you  into  the  bond  of  the  covenant. 

38.  And  I  will  purge  out  from  among  you  the  rebels,  and 
them  that  transgress  against  me:  I  will  bring  them  forth 
out  of  the  country  where  they  sojourn,  and  they  shall  not 
enter  into  the  land  of  Israel :  and  ye  shall  know  that  I  am 
the  Lord. 

Here  the  tone  changes  to  exhortation  and  promise.  The  Lord 
will  yet  put  forth  his  mighty  hand  to  redeem  a  remnant  and  re- 
store them  to  piety  and  to  consequent  prosperity.  The  temptation 
to  be  like  the  heathen  must  be  withstood  and  its  very  thought  re- 
pelled. Verses  35,  36  are  a  beautiful  analogy  between  this  process 
of  discipline  and  that  by  which  the  Lord  sifted,  proved,  and  tried 
his  people  in  the  wilderness  of  Sinai.  So  also  in  Hos.  2:  14-23. 
The  cases  are  not  only  analogous  in  the  principle  involved  but  in 
the  means  used  and  even  partially  in  the  minute  point  of  a  wilder- 
ness life,  for  these  exiles  were  led  forth  through  a  long  wilderness 

route  from  Canaan  to  Chaldea. "I  will  cause  you  to  pass  under 

the  rod,"  looks  to  the  usage  of  shepherds  in  numbering  their  flocks, 
perhaps  nightly  as  they  entered  the  fold,  or  after  a  purchase,  to 
verify  the  number.  So  God  will  bring  his  dear  people  carefully 
into  his  fold,  taking  pains  to  see  that  all  are  there,  and  consecrating 
them  to  himself.  The  sifting  processes  of  his  providence  will  expel 
the  rebels  of  unsubdued  heart.     They  will  never  return  to  his  land. 

39.  As  for  you,  O  house  of  Israel,  thus  saith  the  Lord 
God ;  Go  ye,  serve  ye  every  one  his  idols,  and  hereafter 
also,  if  ye  will  not  hearken  unto  me :  but  pollute  ye  my 
holy  name  no  more  with  your  gifts,  and  with  your  idols. 

40.  For  in  my  holy  mountain,  in  the  mountain  of  the 
height  of  Israel,  saith  the  Lord  God,  there  shall  all  the 
house  of  Israel,  all  of  thcra  in  the  land,  serve  me:  there 
will  I  accept  them,  and  there  will  I  require  your  offerings, 
and  the  first  fruits  of  your  oblations,  with  all  your  holy 
things. 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XX.  119 

41.  I  will  accept  you  witli  your  sweet  savor,  when  I 
bring  you  out  from  the  people,  and  gather  you  out  of  the 
countries  wherein  ye  have  been  scattered;  and  I  will  be 
sanctified  in  you  before  the  heathen. 

42.  And  ye  shall  know  that  I  awi  the  Lord,  when  I  shall 
bring  you  into  the  land  of  Israel,  into  the  country  for  the 
which  I  lifted  up  my  hand  to  give  it  to  your  fathers. 

43.  And  there  shall  ye  remember  your  ways,  and  all  your 
doings  wherein  ye  have  been  defiled;  and  ye  shall  loathe 
yourselves  in  your  own  sight  for  all  your  evils  that  ye  have 
committed. 

44.  And  ye  shall  know  that  I  ain  the  Lord,  when  I  have 
wrought  w^ith  you  for  my  name's  sake,  not  according  to 
your  wicked  ways,  nor  according  to  your  corrupt  doings,  O 
ye  house  of  Israel,  saith  the  Lord  God. 

The  scope  of  v.  39,  I  take  to  be — Play  the  hypocrite  with  me  no 
longer.  If  ye  will  persist  in  serving  idols,  go  on ;  but  cease  to  mix 
up  the  worship  of  idols  with  the  worship  of  the  living  God !  No 
more  pollute  me,  my  name  and  my  temple,  with  your  gifts  and  idols. 
For  lo,  in  my  holy  mountain  there  shall  be  none  but  pure  hearts 
and  true  lives.  Hypocrites  can  have  no  place  there.  There  I  will 
accept  the  honest  and  faithful  Avorshipers ;  they  shall  penitently 
loathe  and  forsake  their  abominations,  and  shall  know  in  their 
own  blessed  experience  that  I  am  the  Lord  their  Savior  and  Ke- 

deemer. This   strain  of  promise  is  eminently  precious  after  so 

long  and  so  terrible  a  recital  of  God's  holy  displeasure  against  his 
apostate  people,  his  grievous  heart-trials  with  them,  and  his  fearful 

judgments  upon  them. ^At  this  point,  our  Hebrew  Bibles  close 

this  chapter.  It  is  manifestly  the  close  of  this  special  theme  and 
strain.  The  remaining  verses  (45-49)  belong  properly  to  the  next 
chapter. 

45.  Moreover  the  w^ord  of  the  Lord  came  unto  me,  saying, 

46.  Son  of  man,  set  thy  face  tow^ard  the  south,  and  drop 
thy  word  toward  the  south,  and  prophesy  against  the  forest 
of  the  south  field ; 

47.  And  say  to  the  forest  of  the  south,  Hear  the  word  of 
the  Lord ;  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God ;  Behold,  I  will  kindle 
a  fire  in  thee,  and  it  shall  devour  every  green  tree  in  thee, 
and  every  dry  tree :  the  flaming  flame  shall  not  be  quenched, 
and  all  faces  from  the  south  to  the  north  shall  be  burned 
therein. 

48.  And  all  flesh  shall  see  that  I  the  Lord  have  kindled 
it :  it  shall  not  be  quenched. 

Remarkably  the  prophets  set  the  face  toward  the  country  or  the 
people  to  whom  their  prophecies  were  addressed.     See  chap.  6 :  2, 


120  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XX. 

and  13:  17,  etc. "The  south,"  and  "the  forest  of  the  south  field," 

as  here  used,  are  manifestly  Jerusalem  and  Judah,  thought  of  as 
"the  south"  for  the  same  reason  that  Babylon — Ezekiel's  residence 
then — was  "the  north."  Hee  Jer.  1:  14-15.  Ezek.  21:  2,  3  con- 
firms this  reference  to  Judah. "Drop  thy  word" — let  thy  speech 

distil — fall  in  drops  (such  is  the  figure).     It  occurs  elsewhere :  Job 

29 :  22  and  Amos  7 :   16. Judah  and  Jerusalem  are  thought  of 

as  a  forest  which  is  combiistible — fit  material  for  the  fires  of  Jeho- 
vah's judgments.  A  terrible  figure  of  a  ruin  before  which  nothing 
can  stand ! 

49.  Then  said  I,  Ah,  Lord  God !  they  say  of  me,  Doth 
he  not  speak  parables? 

A  feeling  of  sad  discouragement  comes  over  the  prophet  as  he 
thinks  of  delivering  this  message  (vs.  46-48),  for  he  remembers 
how  the  people  received  his  threatenings  from  the  Lord  before, 
when  they  were  clothed  in  strongly  figurative  language.  Hence  he 
cries  out,  "  Alas !  alas !  O  Lord  God ;  they  are  saying  of  me  (this  is 
the  precise  tense  of  his  language);  they  have  been  saying  and  doubt- 
less they  will  say  again  of  me — "Does  he  not  use  strong  figures? 
Must  we  not  make  large  allowance  for  his  vivid  imagination?  Have 
his  words  much  meaning  after  all  ?  So  I  understand  their  question, 
"Doth  he  not  speak  parables?"  For  to  suppose  they  simply  ask; 
What  rhetorical  terms,  according  to  the  best  authorities,  should  be 
applied  to  such  forms  of  expression?  is  to  misapprehend  entirely 

both  their  feelings  and  his. Rosenmueller,  however,  gives  it  this 

turn;  Does  he  not  talk  very  blindly,  confusedly,  with  dark  figures 
that  w^e  can  not  understand?  But  if  this  had  been  their  meaning 
the  prophet  would  have  understood  it,  and  then,  instead  of  groaning 
deeply  oveV  their  perverseness,  he  would  have  said — Brethren,  this 
matter  can  readily  be  made  clear,  and  it  shall  he  ! The  case  ex- 
emplifies both  the  spirit  and  the  manner  in  which  perverse  sinners 
who  are  annoyed  by  what  the  Bible  says  of  an  eternal  hell  seek  to 
fritter  away  its  meaning  and  evade  its  force.  Is  it  not  altogether 
figurative,  say  they  ?  How  then  can  we  know  much  about  its  real 
meaning?    Does  not  the  whole  description  bear  the  aspect  of  great 

exaggeration  ? To  questions  like  these,  it  may  be  replied  briefly 

but  most  truthfully;  Figures  of  speech  arc  used  in  every  human 
language,  in  all  ages  of  time.  They  come  nearer  to  the  idea  of  a 
universal  language^  clearly  intelligible  to  all,  than  any  other  form  or 
mode  of  speech.  To  the  popular  mind,  nothing  can  better  or  more 
accurately  describe  suffering  tlmn  the  language  used  in  the  Bible  of 
hell.  Who  docs  not  know  the  effect  of  fire  on  human  flesh  ?  Who 
does  not  understand  fire  as  an  agency  of  ruin  among  the  works  of 
men?  How  utterly  infotuated  then  must  the  man  be  who  decries 
all  Avholesomc  fear  of  hell  and  of  the  wrath  of  God  because  the  ap- 
peal to  such  fear  comes  to  us  from  our  divine  Father,  clothed  in 
figurative  language  ?  Alas  for  the  madness  of  men  when  they  will 
sin  on.  to  their  own  damnation,  and  loill  choose  such  delusions  to 
Bmooth  their  pathway  thither ! 


EZEKIEL.— CHAR  XXI.  121 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

In  this  description  of  judgments  from  God  upon  Jerusalem  vs. 
1-25,  and  upon  Ammon  vs.  28-32,  the  sword  is  made  signally  prom- 
inent— drawn  out  from  the  Lord's  scabbard,  sharpened,  polished, 
gleaming,   flashing,    and  coming    down    fearfully  for    its   work  of 

slaughter !     It  is  the  chapter  of  the  sword. If  we  may  suppose 

a  tacit  connection  with  the  closing  words  of  the  chapter  previous, 
we  shall  see  a  special  pertinence  in  this  figure.  The  people  are 
saying;  These  figures  and  symbols,   parables  and  things  of  that 

sort ; — who  can  tell  how  much  they  mean  ? To  which  the  Lord 

replies ;  "  Ye  must  certainly  know  what  the  sword  means  :  ye  have 
seen  and  heard  of  the  sword ;  let  the  sword  therefore  be  the  figure — 
yet  scarcely  a  figure  so  much  as  a  terrible  reality — in  the  prophet's 
foretelling  of  your  doom!" 

1.  And  the  word  of  the  Lord  came  unto  me,  saying, 

2.  Son  of  man,  set  thy  face  toward  Jerusalem,  and  drop 
thy  word  toward  the  holy  places,  and  prophesy  against  the 
land  of  Israel, 

3.  And  say  to  the  land  of  Israel,  Thus  saith  the  Lord ; 
Behold  I  am  against  thee,  and  will  draw  forth  my  sword 
out  of  his  sheath,  and  will  cut  off  from  thee  the  righteous 
and  the  wicked. 

4.  Seeing  then  that  I  will  cut  off  from  thee  the  righteous 
and  the  wicked,  therefore  shall  my  sword  go  forth  out  of 
his  sheath  against  all  flesh  from  the  south  to  the  north. 

5.  That  all  flesh  may  know  that  I  the  Lord  have  drawn 
forth  my  sword  out  of  his  sheath :  it  shall  not  return  any 
more. 

Set  thy  face  toward  the  city  to  which  the  predicted  judgments 

pertain,  as   in  v.  46,  and  elsewhere. The  destruction  must  be 

general,  embracing  both  the  righteous  and  the  wicked.  Since  no 
discrimination  is  made  on  the  ground  of  moral  character,  there 
can  be  no  discrimination  whatever  (vs.  4,  5),  but  the  sword  shall  cut 
down  all  the  living  from  south  to  north  in  the  land.  The  Lord's 
sword  is  drawn,  and  will  not  return  to  its  scabbard  till  this  work 
is  done. 

6.  Sigh  therefore,  thou  son  of  man,  with  the  breaking  of 
thy  loins ;  and  with  bitterness  sigh  before  their  eyes. 

7.  And  it  shall  be,  when  they  say  say  unto  thee.  Where- 
fore sighest  thou  ?  that  thou  shall  answer,  for  the  tidings ; 
because  it  cometh ;  and  every  heart  shall  melt,  and  all  hands 
shall  be  feeble,  and  every  spirit  shall  faint,  and  all  knees 

6 


122  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXI. 

shall  be  weak  as  water:  behold,  it  cometh,  and  shall  be 
brought  to  pass,  saith  the  Lord  God. 

To  make  the  deeper  impression  on  the  heart  of  the  people,  the 
prophet  is  commanded  to  sigh  and  groan  bitterly  in  their  presence 
with  his  hands  upon  his  loins  as  one  under  intense  and  crushing 
grief.  When  the  attention  of  the  people  should  be  arrested  and 
they  should  inquire  the  cause,  he  must  answer;  "Because  of  what 
I  hear,  for  it  cometh"- — not  the  tidings  merely  come,  but  the  thing 

itself,  the  calamity/  is  near  at  hand. The  Hebrew  is,  "All  knees 

shall  flow  with  water,"  i,  e.,  become  water,  having  no  more  firm- 
ness than  water. 

8.  Again  the  word  of  the  Lord  came  unto  me,  saying, 

9.  Son  of  man,  prophesy  and  say,  Thus  saith  the  Lord ; 
Say,  A  sword,  a  sword  is  sharpened,  and  also  furbished : 

10.  It  is  sharpened  to  make  a  sore  slaughter:  it  is  fur- 
bished that  it  may  glitter:  should  we  then  make  mirth?  it 
contemneth  the  rod  of  my  son,  as  every  tree. 

In  this  extended  description  of  the  sword  (vs.  9-23),  we  shall 
find  several  clauses  in  which  modern  criticism  has  furnished  the 
means  of  improving  somewhat  the  received  translation.  Thus,  in 
the  last  clause  of  v.  10,  this  translation  brings  out  no  intelligible 
sense  in  harmony  with  the  context.  But,  guided  by  the  Septuagint, 
a  very  slight  change  is  made  in  two  Hebrew  letters,  one  in  each 
of  two  words,  whereby  we  read  cl  for  oy,  and  nasee  for  nasces, 
and  then  we  translate  the  entire  verse  thus ;  "  It  is  sharpened  to 
make  a  great  slaughter;  it  is  polished  that  it  may  have  the  flash 
as  of  lightning  against  the  jyrince  of  the  tribes  of  my  son  (my  people) 
who  scorn  all  loooden  rods;"  i.  e.,  who  are  thoroughly  hardened 
against  the   lighter  scourging  with  saplings,    and  must  needs  be 

scourged,  slain,  with  my  glittering  sword. The  prince  represents 

the   people,  so  that   the  sword  upon   him   falls   upon   the  whole 
people. 

11.  And  he  hath  given  it  to  be  furbished,  that  it  may  be 
handled:  this  sword  is  sharpened,  and  it  is  furbished,  to 
give  it  into  the  hand  of  the  slayer. 

Is  made  sharp  and  bright  that  it  may  pass  into  the  hand  of  God's 
destroying  angel,  "  the  slayer." 

12.  Cry  and  howl,  son  of  man  :  for  it  shall  be  upon  my 
people,  it  shall  he  upon  all  the  princes  of  Israel :  terrors  by 
reason  of  the  sword  shall  be  upon  my  people :  smite  there- 
fore upon  thy  thigh. 

In  the  middle  clause,  better — "  Upon  all  the  princes  of  Israel 
who  are  consigned  over  to  the  sword  along  with  my  people;" — i.  e. 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXI.  123 

all  the  princes  as  well  as  all  the  people  are  delivered  over  to  the 
sword.     Therefore  smite  upon  thy  thigh  in  bitter  grief. 

13.  Because  it  is  a  trial,  and  what  if  the  sword  contemn 
even  the  rod  ?  it  shall  be  no  more,  saith  the  Lord  God. 

The  literal  rendering  here  is  impressive,  "For  it"  (the  sword) 
"has  been  proved,"  {i.  g.,  on  other  people),  "and  what  if  even  this 
scornful  tribe"  (Israel)  "shall  be  no  more"  (shall  be  utterly  anni- 
hilated), "  saith  the  Lord  God." 

14.  Thou  therefore,  son  of  man,  prophesy,  and  smite  thy 
hands  together,  and  let  the  sword  be  doubled  the  third  time, 
the  sword  of  the  slain  :  it  is  the  sword  of  the  great  meri  that 
are  slain,  which  entereth  into  their  privy  chambers. 

"Let  the  sword  be  doubled,"  in  the  sense  of  doubling  its  blow; 

"let  it  smite  the  third  time,"  etc. "  The  sword  of  the  great  men 

that  are  slain,"  is  the  sword  that  has  slain  the  great  men.  I  would 
not  read,  "  Which  entereth  into  their  privy  chambers ;"  but,  "  which 
besieges,  begirts  them  round  about  as  the  walls  of  a  chamber  in- 
close its  occupants; — i.  e.,  the  sword  is  on  every  side  of  them,  so 
that  none  can  possibly  escape. 

15.  I  have  set  the  point  of  the  sword  against  all  their 
gates,  that  their  heart  may  faint,  and  their  ruins  be  mul- 
tiplied: ah!  it  is  made  bright,  it  is  wrapped  uj)  for  the 
slaughter. 

The  word  rendered,  "  point"  of  the  sword,  occurs  in  Hebrew  only 
here.  Hence  naturally  the  precise  meaning  is  doubtful.  Yet  the 
general  sense  is  clear.  Gesenius  says,  "The  turning  of  the  sword," 
meaning  that  the  sword's  point  is  turned  toward  all  her  gates; 
"  or  more  probably  by  a  change  in  one  letter,  the  slaughter  of  the 

sword." "Wrapped  up  for  slaughter,"  should  doubtless  be,  made 

smooth^  polished  for  use  in  slaughter.  This  translation  assumes  a 
different  root  from  that  supposed  in  the  received  version. 

16.  Go  thee  one  way  or  other,  either  on  the  right  hand, 
or  on  the  left,  whithersoever  thy  face  is  set. 

This  verse  is  an  address  to  the  sword. Critics  suggest  that 

the  form  of  this  address  is  that  of  military  command :  "  Close  up 
ranks,  right:  to  your  post,  left,"  The  first  verb  means  stand  as  one. 
By  a  bold  personification,  the  sword  becomes  an  armed  host,  now 
being  marshaled  for  battle  and  ordered  to  be  in  readiness  for  a 
charge. 

17.  I  will  also  smite  my  hands  together,  and  I  will  cause 
my  fury  to  rest:  I  the  Lord  have  said  it. 

This  seems  to  be  the  language  of  God,  spoken  of  himself. 

"Cause  my  fury  to  rest,"  as  above  chap.  5:  13,  and  16:  42,  and 


124  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXI. 


below  chap.  24:  13.  The  sense  seems  to  be,  to  aUde,  remain  long, 
and  not  be  evanescent. 

18.  The  word  of  the  Lord  came  unto  me  again,  saying, 

19.  Also,  thou  son  of  man,  appoint  thee  two  ways,  that 
the  sword  of  the  king  of  Babylon  may  come :  both  twain 
shall  come  forth  out  of  one  land :  and  choose  thou  a  place, 
choose  it  at  the  head  of  the  way  to  the  city. 

20.  Appoint  a  way,  that  the  sword  may  come  to  Rab- 
batli  of  the  Ammonites,  and  to  Judah  in  Jerusalem  the 
defensed. 

The  object  here  seems  to  be  to  indicate  the  process  by  which  the 
king  of  Babylon  would  decide  by  a  sort  of  lot  which  course  to  take 
first,  whether  toward  Ammon  or  toward  Jerusalem.  The  statements 
imply  that  the  prophet  was  to  go  through  the  usual  ceremonies  sym- 
bolically, to  make  a  stronger  impression  of  the  facts  upon  the  peo- 
ple. Taking  his  position  at  the  head  of  the  way  leading  to  the 
city,  he  marked  out  one  way  leading  to  Jerusalem;  another,  to  the 
country  of  Ammon.  Both  led  out  from  the  one  land  of  Babylon. 
In  the  last  part  of  the  verse  the  sense  is  better  given  by  read- 
ing or  instead  of  '■'■ayul;"  "To  Rabbatli  of  the  Ammonites,  or  to 
Judah  in  Jerusalem." 

21.  For  the  king  of  Babylon  stood  at  the  parting  of  the 
way,  at  the  head  of  the  two  ways,  to  use  divination;  he 
made  Ms  arrows  bright,  he  consulted  with  images,  he  looked 
in  the  liver. 

22.  At  his  right  hand  was  the  divination  for  Jerusalem, 
to  appoint  captains,  to  open  the  mouth  in  the  slaughter, 
to  lift  up  the  voice  with  shouting,  to  appoint  battering  rams 
against  the  gates,  to  cast  a  mount,  and  to  build  a  fort. 

This  refers  to  ancient  customs  of  learning  the  will  of  the  gods 
(as   supposed)  by  various  forms  of  divination.     Three  forms  are 

here. (1.)   Not,  "making  the  arrows  bright,"  but  shaking  the 

arrows  (previously  labeled)  in  a  bag,  and  then  drawinij;  out  one, 

the  label  of  which  would  give  the  desired  answer. Nos.  2  and 

3  are  noticed  frequently  in  the  old  classic  authors;  consulting  im- 
ages of  the  gods,  and  examining  the  liver  of  an  animal  slain  for 

the  purpose. If  the  indications  led  toward  the  right  hand,  then 

the  king  of  Babylon  would  (not  "appoint  captains"  but)  "put  up 
battering  rams" — the  same  word  which  the  last  clause  renders  in 
this  way.  He  would  also  give  command  for  slaughter,  or,  perhaps, 
open  the  mouth  in  outcry.     (So  Gesenius.) 

23.  And  it  shall  be  unto  them  as  a  false  divination  in 
their  sight,  to  them  that  have  sworn  oaths:  but  he  will 
call  to  remembrance  the  iniquity,  that  they  may  be  taken. 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXL  125 

24.  Therefore  thus  saith  the  Lord  God ;  Because  ye  have 
made  your  iniquity  to  be  remembered,  in  that  your  trans- 
gressions are  discovered,  so  that  in  all  your  doings  your 
sins  do  appear;  because,  I  say,  that  ye  are  come  to  remem- 
brance, ye  shall  be  taken  with  the  hand. 

I  understand  these  verses  to  mean  that  this  divination,  taken  by 
the  king  of  Babylon  and  directing  him  to  besiege  Jerusalem,  would 
be  held  by  the  Jews  as  false  and  of  no  account  because  they  had 
been  in  sworn  allegiance  to  that  king  and  assumed  that  they  could 
have  peace  with  him  on  easy  terms  again.  But  that  king  remem- 
bers their  iniquity  in  violating  those  oaths,  and  this  exasperates 
him  to  sterner  vengeance.  It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  this 
very  king  placed  Zedekiah  on  his  throne  (2  Chron.  36:  10,  13,  and 
Jer.  52 :  3,  and  Ezek.  17 :  15,  18)  under  a  solemn  oath  of  fideHty 
to  himself  as  his  liege  lord. 

25.  And  thou,  profane  wicked  prince  of  Israel,  whose 
day  is  come,  when  iniquity  shall  have  an  end, 

26.  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God ;  Kemove  the  diadem,  and 
take  off  the  crown':  this  shall  not  he  the  same:  exalt  him 
that  is  low,  and  abase  him  that  is  high. 

27.  I  will  overturn,  overturn,  overturn  it:  and  it  shall 
be  no  more,  until  he  come  whose  right  it  is;  and  I  wdll 
give  it  him. 

From  a  view  of  the  intense  depravity  and  horrible  idolatry  of  the 
king  and  his  people,  now  culminating  in  perjury  against  the  king  of 
Babylon,  the  course  of  thought  passes  suddenly  to  direct  address  to 
the  guilty  king  now  to  be  slain  and  of  course  deposed  and  stripped 
of  his  crown.  The  passage  might  be  translated,  almost  literally, 
thus:  "And  thou,  most  wicked  prince  of  Israel;  pierced  through 
with  the  sword,  whose  day  has  come  in  the  time  of  fatal  sin :  Thus 
saith  the  Lord  God;  The  sacred  headband  is  removed;  the  regal 
crown  is  taken  off;  this  shall  be  no  longer  this  (what  it  has  been) ; 
the  lowly  is  exalted ;  the  lofty  is  brought  down :  I  will  utterly  over- 
turn, and  even  then  it  shall  not  be  permanent  until  he  comes  to 

whom  it  belongs ;  then  I  will  give  it  to  him." In  Zedekiah' s  utter 

fall,  the  crown  of  Judah  is  vilely  cast  away:  the  ancient  throne  of 
David  seems  to  be  fearfully  subverted :— but  the  Lord's  hand  is  in 
these  revolutions :  he  will  push  them  on  for  his  own  purposes  until 
the  greater  Prince  of  David's  line  shall  come  to  Avhom  the  eternal 
promise  of  David's  throne  stands  sure.      Then  God  will  give  him 

that  crown  and  kingdom. The  word  rendered  "profane  "  should 

be  rendered,  "  pierced  through,"  both  because  this  is  the  usual 
sense  of  the  word,  and  because  the  scope  of  the  chapter,  so  full  of 
the  swo7-d,  contemplates  him  as  smitten  fatally  thereby,  and  thus 
dethroned  and  his  kingdom  destroyed.  Dr.  Hengstenberg  insists 
that  pierced  through^  slain,  is  the  only  admissible,  well-established, 


126  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXI. 

sense  of  this  Hebrew  Avord.  Ue  supposes  it  used  here  with  some  lat- 
itude of  meaning,  indicating  not  certainly  that  he  died  from  a  sword- 
thrust,  but  that  he  fell  by  violence;  his  nation  and  himself  over- 
powered by  the  arms  of  the  king  of  Babylon. "When  iniquity 

shall  have  an  end,"  is  literally,  "in  the  time  of  the  sin  of  the 
end" — meaning,  in  the  time  of  the  last,  the  fatal,  the  damning  sin 
for  which  there  can  be  no  pardon,  and  the  vengeance  for  which  can 

be  delayed  no  longer. The  word  rendered  "diadem,"  is  used  in 

this  precise  form  only  for  the  sacred  fillet  of  the  High  Priest,  e.  g.^ 
Ex.  28 :  4,  37,  39  and  29 :  G  and  39:  28,  31  and  Lev.  8 :  9  and  16 :  4. 
It  was  specially  appropriate  that  this  prophecy  should  indicate  the 
suspension  of  the  functions  of  the  high  priest  as  well  as  those  of  the 
king. Remarkably  both  were  restored  by  special  promise  ac- 
cording to  the  prophecies  of  Zechariah  (chap.  4:  14  and  6:  13)  after 
the  return  from  captivity.  Both  were  united  under  one  head  and 
given  to  the  great  Messiah  when  he  ultimately  came.  Both  went 
down  together  in  this  fearful  judgment  upon  the  nation  for  its  sin. 
Both  returned  together  when,  through  the  repentance  of  the  people 

and  the  divine  mercy,  they  returned  again  to  become  the  Lord's. 

"This  shall  not  be  the  same" — (literall}^,  "this  shall  not  be  this") 
obviously  means  that  all  is  changed;  nothing  of  the  old  remains. 
As  said  in  the  next  clause,  "the  low  is  made  high;"  "the  high  is 
made  low."  These  verbs  are  in  the  infiijitive,  not  the  imperative, 
to  indicate  simply  the  action  in  general  without  defining  it  specific- 
ally.  The  repetition,  "  I  will  make  it  a  thing  overturned,  over- 
turned, overturned,"  is  a  common  Hebrew  mode  of  strong  emphasis, 

meaning — I  will  overturn  utterly. He  to  whom  "  the  judgment," 

or  the  right  is,  can  be  none  other  than  the  great  Messiah.  The 
idea  of  his  ^'■coming'  may  tacitly  refer  to  Gen.  49:  10,  "  Until  Shiloh 
shall  comey  The  term  ^^ come'  is  in  Hebrew  use  to  designate  the 
Messiah  as  "Ae  that  should  come;"  e.  g.  "Art  thou  he  that  should 
come,  or  look  we  for  another?  Matt.  11 :  3.  Onkelos,  the  best  of 
the  Chaldee  paraphrasts,  gives  us  his  paraphrase  of  Gen.  49 :  10, 
with  his  eye  on  our  passage;  "Until  Messiah  come  whose  is  the 

kingdom." Thus  the  prediction  of  fearful  ruin  on  Jerusalem  and 

her  king  and  high  priest,  suggests  the  consummation  of  the  king- 
dom of  God  on  earth  under  that  great  Personage,  both  King  and 
Priest,  who  fills  the  throne  of  David  forever — a  glorious  priest  on 
his  throne  for  the  joyful  salvation  of  his  redeemed  people.  From 
the  ashes  of  ruin  a  I'henix  arises,  surpassing  all  the  strangeness  of 
things  fabled,  glorious  like  the  loving  purposes  of  its  Infinite  Au- 
thor.  This  passage  is  rich  in  its  suggestive   resources; — e.  g., 

that  none  need  fear  the  results  of  the  revolutions  of  earthly  thrones, 
determined  in  the  providence  of  God :  that  the  helm  of  universal 
dominion  is  in  hands  equal  to  every  emergency,  guided  by  a  far- 
seeing  Avisdom  and  evermore  evolving  events  toward  the  sublime 
and  blessed  consummation  of  God's  great  purposes  of  human  re- 
demption.  These  lessons  bear  toward  a  peaceful,  joyful  trust  in 

our  divine  Father  and  Lord,  and  bid  us  Avait  on  him  in  faith  and 
prayer,  and  with  such  labor  as  we  may,  till  he  bring  fortli  his  right- 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXI.  127 

*• 
eousness  as  the  light,  and  his  faithfulness  in  promise  as  the  noon- 
day! 

28.  And  thou,  son  of  man,  prophesy  and  say,  Thus  saith 
the  Lord  God  concerning  the  Ammonites,  and  concerning 
their  reproach;  even  say  thou.  The  sword,  the  sword  is 
drawn :  for  the  slaughter  it  is  furbished,  to  consume  because 
of  the  glittering ; 

29.  While  they  see  vanity  unto  thee,  w^hile  they  divine 
a  lie  unto  thee,  to  bring  thee  upon  the  necks  of  them  that 
are  slain,  of  the  wicked,  whose  day  is  come,  when  their  in- 
iquity shall  have  an  end. 

30.  Shall  I  cause  it  to  return  into  his  sheath?  I  will 
judge  thee  in  the  place  where  thou  wast  created,  in  the  land 
of  thy  nativity. 

31.  And  I  will  pour  out  mine  indignation  upon  thee;  I 
will  blow  against  thee  in  the  fire  of  my  wrath,  and  deliver 
thee  into  the  hand  of  brutish  men,  and  skillful  to  destroy. 

32.  Thou  shalt  be  for  fuel  to  the  fire ;  thy  blood  shall  be 
in  the  midst  of  the  land ;  thou  shalt  be  no  more  remembered : 
for  I  the  Lord  have  spoken  it. 

It  was  indicated  (vs.  19-22)  that  the  king  of  Babylon  sought  divi- 
nation to  determine  which  city  to  attack  first  in  order,  Jerusalem,  or 
Ammon.  Both  were  in  his  plan  and  in  God's  plan.  The  one  being 
finished,  the  other  follows  as  here.  Perhaps  it  stands  in  this  con- 
nection with  the  fall  of  Jerusalem  to  show  that  the  Lord  tenderly  re- 
members his  true  people;  that  he  resents  the  reproaches  cast  on 
them  by  the  heathen  under  their  great  calamities ;  and  that  it  is  only 
as  apostates  that  God  scourges  his  own  city  and  nation ;  while  his 
sympathies  are  none  the  less  against  the  wicked  heathen  nations 

round  about  them  and  with  his  own  chosen  people. Another 

prophecy  against  Ammon,  similar  in  its  general  tone,  appears  chap. 

25 :  1-7. In  form,  this  passage  is  legitimately  a  continuation  of 

the  sword-chapter,  the  figure  of  the  devouring  sword  being  promi- 
nent throughout. In  v.  28,  "their  reproach"  is  that  which  they 

cast  on  the  suffering  Jews.     See  the  same  idea  more  fully  drawn 

out,  chap.  25  :  3-7. Verse  29  implies  that  in  Ammon  also,  as  vrell 

as  in  Jerusalem,  false  prophets  and  diviners  were  gainsaying  the 
word  of  the  Lord  and  misleading  the  people  to  their  destruction — 
the  results  of  which  would  be  to  bring  down  the  prophet,  armed 
with  the  Lord's  glittering,  devouring  sword,  upon  the  necks  of  their 
slain  in  the  day  of  their  fatal  damning  sin.     The  phraseology  here 

looks  back  to  the  case  of  Jerusalem,  vs.  14,  23,  25, In  v.  30,  the 

form  of  the  Hebrew  verb  "return"  is  imperative.  I  prefer  to  trans- 
late it  thus  and  apply  it  to  the  sword  of  the  Ammonites,  admonish- 
ing them  to  abstain  from  all  resistance  of  the  Chaldean  arms. 
Thus:  "Put  it  (the  sword)  back  into  its  scabbard.     In  the  place 


128  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXII. 

* 
where  thou  wast  created,  in  thy  birth-place  will  I  judge  thee;"  and 
hence  it  can  be  of  no  avail  to  withstand  the  Almighty.     The  first 
clause  gives  no  intimation  of  being  a  question,  nor  of  being  in  the 

first  person. The  scope  of  the  passage  denounces  fearful  and 

even  exterminating  judgments  on  Aiimon. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 


The  word  of  the  Lord  in  this  chapter  sets  forth  the  varied  and 
enormous  wickedness  of  Jerusalem  and  of  Judah.  It  shows  that 
they  were  guilty  of  other  sins  besides  idolatry — indeed,  of  every 
other    sin  named  in  the    decalogue   or   known  in  this   depraved 

world. Here  let  us  bear  in  mind  that  this  rehearsal  and  expose 

of  the  sins  of  the  Jews  still  resident  in  Jerusalem  and  Judah  and 
now  on  the  eve  of  their  destruction  are  made  before  the  exiles  in 
Chaldea  for  the  sake  specially  of  the  resulting  moral  influence  to- 
ward the  reformation  of  those  exiles.  God  would  have  them  under- 
stand why  those  terrible  judgments  were  sent  on  their  brethren  and 
fathers  and  on  the  city  and  land  of  their  early  homes  and  early  love. 
He  would  have  them  feel  the  full  moral  impression  of  those  judg- 
ments as  his  own  terribly  earnest  admonition  against  sin  and  per- 
suasive to  obedience.  His  heart  was  set  on  reclaiming  those  exiles 
to  a  new  life.  Hence  the  mission  of  Ezekiel,  and  hence  these  perti- 
nent appliances  of  truth,  bearing  mightily  upon  their  sympathies, 
their  conscience  and  their  hearts. 

1.  Moreover  the  word  of  the  Lord  came  unto  me,  saying, 

2.  Now,  thou  son  of  man,  wilt  thou  judge  the  bloody 
city?  yea,  thou  slialt  shew  her  all  her  abominations. 

"Judge,"  must  be  taken  here  in  the  same  sense  as  in  chap.  20: 

4.    See  notes  there.^ "The  bloody  city,"  so  called  because  stained 

with  crimes  of  personal  violence,  innocent  blood,  rudely  and  wick- 
edly shed. 

3.  Then  say  thou,  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God;  The  city 
sheddeth  blood  in  the  midst  of  it,  that  her  time  may  come, 
and  maketh  idols  against  herself  to  defile  herself. 

4.  Thou  art  become  guilty  in  thy  blood  that  thou  hast 
shed;  and  hast  defiled  thyself  in  thine  idols  which  thou 
hast  made ;  and  thou  hast  caused  thy  days  to  draw  near, 
and  art  come  even  unto  thy  years ;  therefore  liave  I  made 
thee  a  reproach  unto  the  heathen,  and  a  mocking  to  all 
countries. 

5.  Thoae  ihat  he  near,  and  tlioi<e  that  he  far  from  thee, 
shall  mock  thee,  which  art  infamous  and  much  vexed. 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXII.  129 

The  city  sheddeth  blood  to  hasten  her  time  of  destruction — this 

•  being  the  result  of  such  bloody  violence.     In  the  same  sense  is  v. 

4;  "Thou  hast  caused  thy  days"  {i.  e.,  of  vengeance  from  God)  "to 

draw  near." The  last  words  of  v.  5  would  read  literally;  "defiled 

in  name  and  great  in  tumult;  "  i.  e.,  in  social  disorders,  commotions. 
Society  was  practically  broken  up  by  the  explosive  force  of  out- 
breaking wickedness. 

6.  Behold,  the  princes  of  Israel,  every  one  were  in  thee 
to  their  power  to  shed  blood. 

This  seems  to  mean  that  even  the  princes  who  ought  to  have  set 
a  virtuous  example  were  really  using  their  great  influence  toward 
brutal  violence  and  murder,  doing  all  they  could  to  excite  the  peo- 
ple to  outrages  and  bloody  crimes. 

7.  In  thee  have  they  set  light  by  father  and  mother:  in 
the  midst  of  thee  have  they  dealt  by  oppression  with  the 
stranger:  in  thee  have  they  vexed  the  fatherless  and  the 
widow.  , 

8.  Thou  hast  despised  my  holy  things,  and  hast  j)rofaned 
my  sabbaths. 

9.  In  thee  are  men  that  carry  tales  to  shed  blood:  and 
in  thee  they  eat  upon  the  mountains:  in  the  midst  of  thee 
they  commit  lewdness. 

10.  In  thee  have  they  discovered  their  fathers'  naked- 
ness :  in  thee  have  they  humbled  her  that  was  set  apart 
for  pollution. 

11.  And  one  hath  committed  abomination  with  his  neigh- 
bor's wife;  and  another  hath  lewdly  defiled  his  daughter- 
in-law;  and  another  in  thee  hath  humbled  his  sister,  his 
father's  daughter. 

12.  In  thee  have  they  taken  gifts  to  shed  blood;  thou 
hast  taken  usury  and  increase,  and  thou  hast  greedily 
gained  of  thy  neighbors  by  extortion,  and  hast  forgotten 
me,  saith  the  Lord  God. 

This  is  a  sad,  appalling  catalogue  of  the  foulest  immoralities. 

"To  carry  tales  to  shed  blood"  is  to  get  up  false  accusations  and 

retail  slanders  against  the  life  of  their  fellow-citizens. Lewdness, 

here,  is  to  be  taken  in  its  literal,  not  its  figurative  sense. 

13.  Behold,  therefore  I  have  smitten  my  hand  at  thy 
dishonest  gain  which  thou  hast  made,  and  at  thy  blood 
which  hath  been  in  the  midst  of  thee. 

14.  Can  thy  heart  endure,  or  can  thy  hands  be  strong, 
in  the  days  that  I  shall  deal  with  thee?  I  the  Lord  have 
spoken  it,  and  will  do  it 


130  EZEKIEL,— CHAP.  XXII. 

15.  And  I  will  scatter  thee  among  the  heathen,  and  dis- 
perse thee  in  the  countries,  and  will  consume  thy  filthiness 
out  of  thee. 

"  Smitten  my  hand  at  thy  dishonest  gain,"  is  a  significant  gesture, 
indicating  his  purpose  to  scatter  those  gains  to  the  winds  of  heaven 
and  to  make  solemn  requisition  for  that  blood.  It  was  God's  own 
intimation  that  he  would  call  her  to  account  for  those  horrible  sins. 
When  the  hour  of  her  judgment  should  come,  "Could  her  heart 
endure  or  her  hands  be  strong"  against  the  Infinite  Godf  Alas, 
she  would  find  that  God  never  lacks  agencies  and  resources  for 
terrific  punishment!  How  vain  for  frail,  weak  creatures  to  stand 
up  against  the  Almighty!  How  surely  will  sinners  learn  this  to 
their  unutterable  consternation  when  the  wrath  of  God  shall  fall 
on  them  to  the  uttermost! 

16.  And  thou  shalt  take  thine  inheritance  in  thyself  in 
the  sight  of  the  heathen,  and  thou  shalt  know  that  I  am 
the  Lord. 

"  Thou  shalt  take  thine  inheritance  in  thyself  in  the  sight  of  the 
heathen,"  fails  to  give  any  pertinent  sense  in  harmony  with  the 
context.  The  verb  should  be  taken  not  from  the  root  yiahal,  but 
from  the  root  halal,  in  the  sense,  to  violate,  to  profane.  Thou  shalt 
be  dishonored,  abused,  treated  as  profane  before  the  heathen.  This 
word  occurs  in  the  same  sense  in  chap.  7 :  24. 

17.  And  the  word  of  the  Lord  came  unto  me,  saying, 

18.  Son  of  man,  the  house  of  Israel  is  to  me  become 
dross :  all  they  are  brass,  and  tin,  and  iron,  and*  lead,  in 
the  midst  of  the  furnace ;  they  are  even  the  dross  of  silver. 

19.  Therefore  thus  saith  the  Lord  God;  Because  ye  are 
all  become  dross,  behold,  therefore  I  wdll  gather  you  into 
the  midst  of  Jerusalem. 

20.  As  they  gather  silver,  and  brass,  and  iron,  and  lead, 
and  tin,  into  the  midst  of  the  furnace,  to  blow  the  fire  upon 
it,  to  melt  it;  so  will  I  gather  you  in  mine  anger  and  in 
my  fury,  and  I  will  leave  you  there,  and  melt  you. 

21.  Yea,  I  will  gather  you,  and  blow  upon  you  in  the 
fire  of  my  wrath,  and  ye  shall  be  melted  in  the  midst 
thereof 

22.  As  silver  is  melted  in  the  midst  of  the  furnace,  so 
shall  ye  be  melted  in  the  midst  thereof;  and  ye  shall  know 
that  I  the  Lord  have  poured  out  my  fury  upon  you. 

By  a  new  and  expressive  figure,  the  people  are  all  said  to  be 
mere  dross;  not  gold  and  silver,  l)ut  only  iho;  refuse  matter  which 
is  mixed  with  those  precious  metals  and  requires  to  be  expelled  by 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXII.  131 

intense  heat  in  the  furnace.  So  the  Lord  would  gather  this  -wicked 
people,  put  them  into  his  great  furnace,  blow  upon  them  in  the 
fierceness  of  his  wrath,  and  expel  all  the  impure,  worthless  matter. 

In   the   last   clause  of  v.   20  the  verb  rendered,   "leave  you 

there,"  is  better  translated,  "ca^i  you  in' — i.  e.,  to  the  furnace  to 
melt  you  there.  Literally,  to  cause  you  to  rest  there;  put  you  in 
to  stay  permanently. This  figure  is  intensely  expressive. 

23.  And  the  word  of  the  Lord  came  unto  me,  saying, 

24.  Son  of  man,  say  unto  her,  Thou  art  the  land  that  is 
not  cleansed,  nor  rained  upon  in  the  day  of  indignation. 

By  yet  another  figure,  the  land  of  Judah  is  like  a  field  not 
cleansed  of  its  briars,  thorns  and  weeds,  which  are  fatal  to  the 
production  of  useful  plants, — nor  had  it  been  rained  upon.  Of 
course  it  can  be  only  barren. 

25.  There  is  a  conspiracy  of  her  prophets  in  the  midst 
thereof,  like  a  roaring  lion  ravening  the  prey ;  they  have 
devoured  souls ;  they  have  taken  the  treasure  and  precious 
things ;  they  have  made  her  many  widows  in  the  midst 
thereof. 

26.  Her  priests  have  violated  my  law,  and  have  profaned 
my  holy  things;  they  have  put  no  difference  between  the 
holy  and  profane,  neither  have  they  shewed  difference  be- 
tween the  unclean  and  the  clean,  and  have  hid  their  eyes 
from  my  sabbaths,  and  I  am  profaned  among  them. 

27.  Her  princes  in  the  midst  thereof  are  like  wolves 
ravening  the  prey,  to  shed  blood,  and  to  destroy  souls,  to 
get  dishonest  gain. 

Her  prophets,  priests  and  princes — ^the  three  islasses  of  leading 
influence — are  successively  arraigned  as  each  horribly  guilty  of 
corruption  in  their  respective  offices  and  of  most  flagrant  immoral- 
ities. They  mislead  and  ruin  souls,  wielding  their  great  influence, 
not  to  save  men  from  sin  and  death,  but  to  destroy. 

28.  And  her  prophets  have  daubed  them  with  untem- 
pered  mortar,  seeing  vanity,  and  divining  lies  unto  them, 
saying.  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God,  when  the  Lord  hath  not 
spoken. 

29.  The  people  of  the  land  have  used  oppression,  and 
exercised  robbery,  and  have  vexed  the  poor  and  needy : 
yea,  they  have  oppressed  the  stranger  wrongfully. 

The  worst  class  of  all  in  their  influence  call  for  renewed  remark. 
False  prophets  were  the  most  terrible  curse;  no  other  influence 
could  be  so  bad  as  theirs.  They  threw  it  solid  against  the  true 
prophets  to  break  down  the  confidence  of  the  people  in  the  real 


132  EiZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXIII. 

word  of  the  Lord  and  to  win  their  confidence  to  their  own  lies. 

See  this  tiirure — ''untempered  mortar" — exphiincd  chap.  13:  10-16. 
"Kobbery  and  oppression  of  the  poor,"  invariably  appear  fore- 
most amon<^  the  sins  of  a  people  so  deeply  corrupt  in  general  morals. 
It  is  one  of  the  terrible  manifestations  of  human  depravity  and  un- 
curbed selfishness. 

30.  And  I  sought  for  a  man  among  them,  that  should 
make  up  the  hedge,  and  stand  in  the  gap  before  me  for  the 
land,  that  I  should  not  destroy  it:  but  I  found  none. 

31.  Therefore  have  I  poured  out  mine  indignation  upon 
them ;  I  have  consumed  them  with  the  fire  of  my  wrath : 
their  own  way  have  I  recompensed  upon  their  heads,  saith 
the  Lord  God. 

See  the  figure  of  the  "hedge  and  the  gap"  in  chap  13:  5.  The 
hedge  here  seems  to  be  a  wall  built  up  to  withstand  the  judgments 
of  God,  No  man  is  found  in  the  land  to  rush  into  the  breach,  re- 
build the  broken  wall,  or  stand  against  the  foe  at  the  point  of 
deadly  peril.  The  moral  power  of  the  people  to  recover  themselves 
from  their  horrible  corruptions  is  prostrate;  there  is  no  recupera- 
tive force  left.  Not  a  man  appeared  to  stem  the  torrent  of  this 
corruption.  If  the  Lord  could  have  found  one  such  strong  man  to 
work  with  himself  for  the  salvation  of  the  people,  he  would  at  least 
have  deferred  this  final  outpouring  of  his  wrath  in  exterminating 
judgments.  But  he  found  none,  and  hence  their  ruin  was  inevita- 
ble, and  no  reason  existed  for  its  being  longer  delayed. 


CHAPTER  XXin. 


In  this  chapter,  the  figure  by  which  the  Lord  represents  the 
idolatry  of  his  people  as  adultery  assumes  a  bolder  form  than  usual, 
and  is  carried  out  Avith  very  great  minuteness  both  in  respect  to  the 
sin  and  its  punishment.  The  whole  representation  is  intensely 
keen  and  caustic,  setting  forth  in  a  most  revolting  light  the  great 
crimes  of  the  Jewish  people  in  the  line  of  idolatry,  and  adapted  to 
fill  them  with  a  sense  of  shame  and  self-loathing.  In  a  few  passages 
our  translation  fails  to  give  the  full  strength  of  the  original,  but  the 
nature  of  the  sul)ject  ought  perhaps  to  excuse  the  omission  of  any 

more  amplifying  details. The  ultimate  sense   of  the  whole  is 

plain.  Samaria  and  Jerusalem  are  called  "Aholah"  and  "  Aholi- 
bah."  As  harlots,  they  ])ogan  their  harlot  life  with  Egypt;  continued 
it  with  Assyria,  the  Chaldeans  and  the  ]H^iple  of  the  desert;  pushed 
their  idolatry  even  to  the  extent  of  burning  alive  their  children, 
God's  own  sons  and  daughters,  and  of  desecrating  his  very  sanc- 
tuary with  their  idols :  and  then,  being  put  on  trial  under  Hebrew 
law  before  righteous  men,  they  sutler  the  doom  of  adulteresses,  on 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXIII.  133 

whose  hands   is  the  hlood  of  murder  also : — they  are  stoned  with 

stones   and  their   houses  burned   with  fire. Thus    the    land    is 

cleansed  of  the  abominations  of  its  spiritual  whoredom;  it  bears 
the  sins  of  its  idols,  and  Desolation  sits  upon  the  ruins  of  those 
cities — a  living  memorial  of  God's  righteous  jealousy  against  his 
apostate  people ! 

1.  The  word  of  the  Lord  came  again  unto  me,  saying, 

2.  Son  of  man,  there  were  two  women,  the  daughters 
of  one  mother : 

3.  And  they  committed  whoredoms  in  Egypt ;  they  com- 
mitted whoredoms  in  their  youth :  there  w^ere  their  breasts 
pressed,  and  there  they  bruised  the  teats  of  their  virginity. 

4.  And  the  names  of  them  ivere  Aholah  the  elder,  and 
Aholibah  her  sister :  and  they  were  mine,  and  they  bare 
sons  and  daughters.  Thus  ivere  their  names ;  Samaria  is 
Aholah,  and  Jerusalem  Aholibah. 

5.  And  Aholah  played  the  harlot  when  she  was  mine ; 
and  she  doted  on  her  lovers,  on  the  Assyrians,  her  neigh- 
bors, 

6.  WliicJi  were  clothed  Avitli  blue,  captains  and  rulers,  and 
all  of  them  desirable  young  men,  horsemen  riding  upon 
horses. 

7.  Thus  she  committed  her  whoredoms  with  them,  with 
all  them  that  ivere  the  chosen  men  of  Assyria,  and  with  all 
on  whom  she  doted ;  with  all  their  idols  she  defiled  herself. 

Her  young  Assyrian  neighbors  are  presented  in  these  forms  of 
beauty  and  splendor  to  indicate  the  strong  attractions  of  taste,  art, 
and  sensual  pleasure,  thrown  around  idol-worship  in  that  age.  It 
has  always  been  the  policy  of  Satan  to  invest  idolatry  with  every 
attraction  possible — beautiful  sites,  charming  groves,  gorgeous  tem- 
ples, luxurious  feasts,  and  enchanting  music — to  say  nothing  of  the 
charms  of  dress  and  of  female  beauty,  or  of  the  baser  passions  of 

lasciviousness  and  lust. Syria  is  probably  included  under  the 

comprehensive  term,  "Assyria."  There  is  abundant  historical  evi- 
dence that,  in  Syria,  during  the  period  of  the  revolt,  idolatry  was 
invested  with  strong  artistic  and  sensual  attractions.  Sec  2  Kings 
IG:  10,  and  2  Chron.  28:  2-4,  23-25. 

8.  Neither  left  she  her  whoredoms  brought  from  Egypt : 
for  in  her  youth  they  lay  with  her,  and  they  bruised  the 
breasts  of  her  virginity,  and  poured  their  whoredom  upon 
her. 

9.  Wherefore,  I  have  delivered  her  into  the  hand  of  her 
lovers,  into  the  hand  of  the  Assyrians,  upon  whom  she 
doted. 


134  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXIII. 

10.  These  discovered  her  nakedness:  they  took  her  sons 
and  her  daugliters  and  slew  her  with  the  sword :  and  she 
became  famous  among  women;  for  they  had  executed  judg- 
ment upon  her. 

Samaria,  the  elder  sister,  is  put  foremost  as  having  led  off  in  this 
great  sin.     The  reference  is  to  Jeroboam  and  his  successors. 

11.  And  when  her  sister  Aholibah  saw  this,  she  was  more 
corrupt  in  her  inordinate  love  than  she,  and  in  her  whore- 
doms more  than  her  sister  in  her  whoredoms. 

12.  She  doted  upon  the  Assyrians  her  neighbors,  cap- 
tains and  rulers  clothed  most  gorgeously,  horsemen  riding 
upon  horses,  all  of  them  desirable  young  men. 

Jerusalem  was  worse  than  Samaria  as  having  sinned  against 
greater  light,  more  sacred  vows  and  obligations,  and  especially,  in 
the  presence  of  the  very  temple  of  the  holy  God ! 

13.  Then  I  saw  that  she  was  defiled,  that  they  tooh  both 
one  way : 

14.  And  that  she  increased  her  wdioredoms :  for  when  she 
saw  men  portrayed  uj)on  the  wall,  the  images  of  the  Chal- 
deans portrayed  with  vermilion, 

15.  Girded  with  girdles  upon  their  loins,  exceeding  in 
dyed  attire  upon  their  heads,  all  of  them  princes  to  look  to, 
after  the  manner  of  the  Babylonians  of  Chaldea,  the  land 
of  their  nativity  : 

46.  And  as  soon  as  she  saw  them  with  her  eyes,  she 
doted  upon  them,  and  sent  messengers  unto  them  into 
Chaldea. 

17.  And  the  Babylonians  came  to  her  into  the  bed  of 
love,  and  they  defiled  her  with  their  whoredom,  and  she  was 
polluted  with  them,  and  her  mind  was  alienated  from  them. 

18.  So  she  discovered  her  whoredoms,  and  discovered  her 
nakedness:  then  my  mind  was  alienated  from  her,  like  as 
my  mind  was  alienated  from  her  sister. 

19.  Yet  she  multiplied  her  whoredoms,  in  calling  to 
remembrance  the  days  of  her  youth,  wherein  she  had 
played  the  harlot  in  the  land  of  Egypt. 

20.  For  she  doted  upon  their  paramours,  whose  flesh  w  as 
the  flesh  of  asses,  and  whose  issue  is  like  the  issue  of  horses. 

21.  Thus  thou  calledst  to  memory  the  lewdness  of  thy 
youth,  in  bruising  thy  teats  by  the  Egyptians  for  the  paps 
of  thy  youth. 

The  reader  will  notice  the  reference  to  the  attractions  which  art 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXIII.  135 

had  thrown  around  the  idol-worship  of  Chaldea.  On  this  subject 
the  historical  portions  of  Daniel  give  additional  light.  The  portrayal 
of  idol  images  on  the  walls  of  her  temples  corresponds  entirely  with 
the  testimony  recently  brought  to  light  from  the  ruins  of  Nineveh 

and  Babylon. This  representation  was  specially  pertinent  from 

the  lips  of  Ezekiel  to  the  Jewish  exiles  then  in  Chaldea,  being  well 
adapted  to  make  them  abhor  these  seductive  temptations  which  ad- 
dressed themselves  not  unfrequently  (we  must  suppose)  to  their 
eyes. 

22.  Therefore,  O  Aholibah,  thus  saith  the  Lord  God; 
Behold,  I  will  raise  up  thy  lovers  against  thee,  from  whom 
thy  mind  is  alienated,  and  I  will  bring  them  against  thee 
on  every  side; 

23.  The  Babylonians,  and  all  the  Chaldeans,  Pekod,  and 
Slioa,  and  Koa,  and  all  the  Assyrians  wdth  them :  all  of 
them  desirable  young  men,  captains  and  rulers,  great  lords 
and  renowned,  all  of  them  riding  upon  horses. 

24.  And  they  shall  come  against  thee  with  chariots,  wag- 
ons, and  wheels,  and  with  an  assembly  of  people,  tvhieh 
shall  set  against  thee  buckler  and  shield  and  helmet  round 
about :  and  I  will  set  judgment  before  them,  and  they  shall 
judge  thee  according  to  their  judgments. 

In  V.  23,  "Pekod"  "Shoa,"  and  "Koa"  were  taken  by  our  trans- 
lators as  proper  nouns — names  of  either  cities  or  countries.  Mod- 
ern critics  take  them  to  be  common  nouns,  descriptive  of  office  or 
class; — "pekod,"  the  overseer;  "shoa,"  the  rich;  "koa,"  literally, 
the  male  camel,  but  here  the  princes.  This  corresponds  with  what 
immediately  follows — "  all  of  them  desirable  young  men,  captains 
and  rulers, '  etc. In  the  last  clause  of  v.  24,  the  sense  of  "  set- 
ting judgment  before  them"  is,  I  will  commit  the  judgment  upon 
your  case  into  their  hands. 

25.  And  I  will  set  my  jealousy  against  thee,  and  they 
shall  deal  furiously  with  thee :  they  shall  take  aAvay  thy 
nose  and  thine  ears ;  and  thy  remnant  shall  fall  by  the 
sword :  they  shall  take  thy  sons  and  thy  daughters ;  and 
thy  residue  shall  be  devoured  by  the  fire. 

26.  They  shall  also  strip  thee  out  of  thy  clothes,  and  take 
away  thy  fair  jewels. 

27.  Thus  I  will  make  thy  lewdness  to  cease  from  thee, 
and  thy  whoredom  brought  from  the  land  of  Egypt :  so  that 
thou  shalt  not  lift  uj)  thine  eyes  unto  them,  nor  remember 
Egypt  any  more. 

28.  For  thus  saith  the  Lord  God ;  Behold,  I  will  deliver* 
thee  into  the  hand  of  them  wdiom  thou  hatest,  into  the  hand 
of  them  from  whom  thy  mind  is  alienated : 


136  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXIII. 

29.  And  they  shall  deal  with  thee  hatefully,  and  shall 
take  aAvay  all  thy  labor,  and  shall  leave  thee  naked  and 
bare :  and  the  nakedness  of  thy  whoredoms  shall  be  dis- 
covered, both  thy  lewdness  and  thy  whoredoms. 

30.  I  will  do  these  things  unto  thee,  because  thou  hast 
gone  a  whoring  after  the  heathen,  and  because  thou  art 
polluted  with  their  idols. 

Jealousy  is  the  very  feeling  which  is  wont  to  manifest  itself  most 
fearfully  in  the  punishment  of  adultery.     So  here.     Cutting  off  the 

nose  and  ears  was  the  punishment  of  adultery  in  Egypt. ^In  v. 

29,  "hatefully"  means  with  intense  hatred — with  a  sense  of  the 
loathsomeness  of  the  crimes  and  with  personal  hatred  of  the 
otFender. 

31.  Thou  hast  walked  in  the  way  of  thy  sister ;  therefore 
will  I  give  her  cu])  into  thy  hand. 

32.  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God ;  Thou  shalt  drink  of  thy 
sister's  cup  deep  and  large :  thou  shalt  be  laughed  to  scorn 
and  had  in  derision  ;  it  containeth  much. 

33.  Thou  shalt  be  filled  with  drunkenness  and  sorrow, 
with  the  cup  of  astonishment  and  desolation,  wdth  the  cup 
of  thy  sister  Samaria. 

34.  Thou  shalt  even  drink  it  and  suck  it  out,  and  thou 
shalt  break  the  sherds  thereof,  and  pluck  off  thine  own 
breasts :  for  I  have  spoken  it,  saith  the  Lord  God. 

Jerusalem  drinks  from  the  same  cup  as  Samaria — drinks  it  to  the 
dregs  and  even  sucks  every  drop  that  adheres  to  the  broken  sherds 
of  that  cup.  In  her  drunkenness  and  misery  she  tears  her  own 
breasts — one  of  the  extreme  indications  of  wretchedness. 

35.  Therefore  thus  saith  the  Lord  God;  Because  thou 
hast  forgotten  me,  and  cast  me  behind  thy  back,  therefore 
bear  thou  also  thy  lewdness  and  thy  wdioredoms. 

36.  The  Lord  said  moreover  unto  me ;  Son  of  man,  wilt 
thou  judge  Aholah  and  Aholibah  ?  yea,  declare  unto  them 
their  abominations ; 

37.  That  they  have  committed  adultery,  and  blood  is  in 
their  hands,  and  with  their  idols  have  they  committed  adul- 
tery, and  have  also  caused  their  sons,  whom  they  bare  unto 
me,  to  pass  for  them  through  the  fire,  to  devour  them. 

38.  Moreover  this  they  liave  done  unto  me :  they  have 
defiled  my  sanctuary  in  the  same  day,  and  have  profaned 
my  sabbaths. 

39.  For  when  they  had  slain  their  children  to  their  idols, 
then  they  came  the  same  day  into  my  sanctuary  to  pro- 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXIII.  137 

fane  it ;  and  lo,  thus  have  they  done  in  the  midst  of  my 
house. 

The  fif!;ure  is  here  in  part  dropped  and  hteral  statements  appear, 
perhaps  because  no  possible  turn  of  the  figure  could  adequately 
represent  the  enormity  of  burning  their  own  children  in  the  fire, 
or  of  desecrating  the  very  temple  of  the  living  God  with  their 
idols. The  view  given  of  the  dreadful  guilt  of  the  Jews  is  height- 
ened by  the  repeated  statement  that  after  burning  their  own  chil- 
dren to  idol  gods,  they  went  on  the  same  clay  into  God's  holy  temple 
with  their  bloody  hands  and  there  profaned  his  sanctuary,  as  if  they 
had  no  sense  of  God's  abhorrence  of  their  unnatural  and  bloody 
crimes ! 

40.  And  furthermore,  that  ye  have  sent  for  men  to  come 
from  far,  unto  whom  a  messenger  loas  sent ;  and  lo,  they 
came  :  for  whom  thou  didst  wash  thyself,  paintedst  thy 
eyes,  and  deckedst  thyself  with  ornaments, 

41.  And  satest  upon  a  stately  bed,  and  a  table  prepared 
before  it,  whereupon  thou  hast  set  mine  incense  and  mine 
oil. 

42.  And  a  voice  of  a  multitude  being  at  ease  was  with 
her :  and  with  the  men  of  the  common  sort  were  brought 
Sabeans  from  the  wilderness,  which  put  bracelets  upon  their 
hands,  and  beautiful  crowns  upon  their  heads. 

43.  Then  said  I  unto  her  that  luas  old  in  adulteries,  Will 
they  now  commit  whoredoms  with  her,  and  she  with  them  f 

44.  Yet  they  went  in  unto  her,  as  they  go  in  unto  a 
woman  that  playeth  the  harlot :  so  went  they  in  unto  Aho- 
lah  and  unto  Aholibah,  the  lewd  women. 

In  V.  42,  the  word  "Sabeans"  is  probably  a  common  and  not  a 
proper  noun — meaning  drunkards^  and  not  the  Sabean  people.  The 
prophet  represents  them  as  the  basest  of  men,  the  very  lowest  of  the 
human  race,  to  show  that  nothing  was  too  low  or  mean  for  this  de- 
based and  guilty  people  to  do  in  the  line  of  idolatry. 

45.  And  the  righteous  men,  they  shall  judge  them  after 
the  manner  of  adulteresses,  and  after  the  manner  of  women 
that  shed  blood ;  because  they  are  adulteresses,  and  blood  is 
in  their  hands. 

46.  For  thus  saith  the  Lord  God  ;  I  will  bring  uj)  a  com- 
pany upon  them,  and  will  give  them  to  be  removed  and 
spoiled. 

47.  And  the  company  shall  stone  them  with  stones,  and 
dispatch  them  with  their  swords ;  they  shall  slay  their  sons 
and  daughters,  and  burn  up  their  houses  with  fire. 

48.  Thus  will  I  cause  lewdness  to  cease  out  of  the  land, 


138  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXIV. 

that  all  women  may  be  taught  not  to  do  after  your  lewd- 
ness. 

49.  And  they  shall  recompense  your  lewdness  upon  you, 
and  ye  shall  bear  the  sins  of  your  idols :  and  ye  shall  know 
that  I  am  the  Lord  God. 

The  judgment,  administered  by  righteous  men  in  its  awful  se- 
verity upon  adulteresses,  polluted  with  life-long  crime  and  standing 
f3eforc  the  court  with  their  bloody  hands — closes  this  appalling 
scene.  Abating  the  intensely  revolting  nature  of  this  description 
and  the  repugnance  of  its  details  to  our  sense  of  delicacy,  the  whole 
description  is  pungent  and  thrilling,  and  must  have  been  full  of 
moral  power  upon  the  heart  and  conscience  of  the  men  to  whom  it 
was  originally  spoken.  One  may  well  suppose  it  would  make  their 
ears  tingle  and  their  cheeks  crimson  with  a  sense  of  shame  for  their 
people  and  their  beloved  city.  We  naturally  incline  to  pass  by 
such  a  chapter  unread;  yet  let  us  not  forget  that  to  the  Jewish 
exiles  of  Ezekiel's  day  its  features  that  are  revolting  to  us  would 
be  scarcely  if  at  all  objectionable,  and  then  that  its  caustic  and  ter- 
ribly truthful  severity  must  have  made  its  testimony  against  the 
guilt  of  Jerusalem  burn  itself  into  the  very  heart  and  soul  of  the 

people. Let  us  hope  that  this  chapter  was  greatly  blessed  of  God 

to  open  their  dull  eyes  to  the  enormity  of  their  national  sin  and  to  a 
sense  of  the  justice  of  that  dreadful  doom  which  was  ready  even 
then  to  fall  with  crushing,  annihilating  force  on  the  doomed  city. 
The  siege  was  within  a  few  months  of  its  commencement.  These 
were  the  last  words  of  the  prophet  prior  to  his  announcement  that 
the  siege  had  begun. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 


This  chapter  bears  a  new  date,  viz.,  the  very  day  in  which  Neb- 
uchadnezzar commenced  the  siege  of  Jerusalem,  and  two  years  and 
five  months  later  than  the  last  preceding  date  (20:  1.)  It  is  in  two 
parts — the  first  part  (vs.  3-14)  presenting  the  confirmed  wickedness 
of  Jerusalem  and  God's  eflPorts  to  cleanse  it  out,  under  the  figure  of 
a'  pot  foul  with  rust,  yet  not  cleansed  by  use,  and  incapable  of  being 
cleansed  till  it  is  set  empty  upon  a  hot  fire  and  the  very  brass  itself 

thoroughly  heated  and  burned. In  the  second  part  (vs.   15-27) 

the  prophet's  wife  suddenly  dies;  he  is  forbidden  to  manifest  his 
grief  in  the  usual  modes,  showing  the  people  thus  that  the  calami- 
tics  of  their  nation  will  be  too  great  to  admit  of  the  common  public 
manifestations  of  mourning. 

1.  Again  in  the  ninth  year,  in  the  tenth  month,  in  the 
tenth  day  of  the  month,  the  word  of  the  Lord  came  unto 
me,  saying. 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXIV.  139 

2.  Son  of  man,  write  thee  the  name  of  the  day,  even  of 

I       this  same  day:   the   king   of  Babylon  set  himself  against 
Jerusalem  this  same  day. 

The  precise  day  on  which  the  siege  of  Jerusalem  commenced  is 
on  record  2  Kings  25  :  1,  and  Jer.  52:  4;  precisely  as  here.  Omit- 
ting only  the  day  of  the  month,  the  same  date  appears  in  Jer.  39:  1. 
Of  course  this  was  one  of  the  ever-memorable  days  of  Jewish  his- 
tory, long  observed  as  a  day  of  fasting.     See  Zech.  8 :  19. It  was 

an  impressive  fact  to  the  exiles.     They  must  have  seen  in  it  new 
proof  of  the  failure  of  their  long-cherished  hopes. 

3.  And  utter  a  parable  unto  the  rebellious  house,  and  say 
unto  them,  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God ;  Set  on  a  pot,  set  it  on, 
and  also  pour  water  into  it : 

4.  Gather  the  pieces  thereof  into  it,  even  every  good  piece, 
the  thigh,  and  the  shoulder  ;  fill  it  with  the  choice  bones. 

5.  Take  the  choice  of  the  flock,  and  burn  also  the  bones 
under  it,  and  make  it  boil  well,  and  let  them  seethe  the 
bones  of  it  therein. 

Inasmuch  as  this  is  distinctly  declared  to  be  a  parable,  we  can  not 
suppose  it  to  have  been  a  real  symbolic  transaction  performed  before 
the  eyes  of  the  people,  nor  yet  a  vision  shown  to  the  prophet  by  the 
divine  Spirit.  It  is  rather  a  supposed  transaction,  designed  to  repre- 
sent certain  analogous  points  in  the  case  of  the  city  of  Jerusalem, 
its  people  and  its  pollutions.  The  pot  of  brass  represents  the  city ; 
its  contents  of  flesh  and  bones  are  the  inhabitants;  and  the  rust 
("scum")  and  foulness  of  the  pot  stand  for  the  abominations  of  the 
city,  the  deep  pollutions  of  society  which  had  hardened  and  become 
incrusted  upon  the  inner  surface  of  the  pot,  and  could  be  removed  by 
no  ordinary  process.  The  first  step  in  the  operation  is  described  in 
these  verses.  Fill  it  with  water,  flesh,  and  bones ;  set  it  over  a  hot 
fire,  and  boil  it  thoroughly.  See  what  discipline  will  do  toward  re- 
form. 

6.  Wherefore  thus  saith  the  Lord  God ;  Wo  to  the  bloody 
city,  to  the  pot  whose  scum  is  therein,  and  whose  scum  is 
not  gone  out  of  it !  bring  it  out  piece  by  piece ;  let  no  lot 
fall  upon  it. 

7.  For  her  blood  is  in  the  midst  of  her;  she  set  it  upon 
the  top  of  a  rock ;  she  poured  it  not  upon  the  ground,  to 
cover  it  with  dust ; 

8.  That  it  might  cause  fury  to  come  up  to  take  ven- 
geance; I  have  set  her  blood  upon  the  top  of  a  rock,  that 
it  should  not  be  covered. 

9.  Therefore  thus  saith  the  Lord  God ;  Wo  to  the  bloody 
city !     I  will  even  make  the  pile  for  fire  great. 


140  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXIV. 

10.  Heap  on  wood,  kindle  the  fire,  consume  the  flesh,  and 
spice  it  well,  and  let  the  bones  be  burned. 

New  points  in  the  process  are  blended  here  with  explanations  of 
its  moral  significance.  The  pot  is  shown  to  mean  the  city.  Its  filth 
and  rust  represent  the  blood  of  the  city  which  has  not  been  poured 
out  upon  the  earth  to  be  absorbed,  but  thrown  upon  the  sunny  sur- 
face of  a  rock,  where  it  would  only  dry  down  and  remain — a  stand- 
ing witness  of  crime — a  defilement  removable  only  with  the  utmost 

labor. The  Lord  would  push  this  boiling  process  with  the  utmost 

energy  to  see  what  can  be  done  toward  cleansing  the  pot  from  its 
filth  and  rust.  Vs.  6  and  11  intimate  that  after  the  failure  of  this 
effort,  the  pot  is  entirely  emptied  of  its  flesh  and  bones — i.  e.,  the 
city  is  emptied  of  its  people,  and  then  the  city  itself  (the  pot)  is  sub- 
jected to  intense  heat,  to  burn  off  its  pollutions. 

11.  Then  set  it  empty  upon  the  coals  thereof,  that  the 
brass  of  it  may  be  hot,  and  may  burn,  and  that  the  filthiness 
of  it  may  be  molten  in  it,  that  the  scum  of  it  may  be  con- 
sumed. 

12.  She  hath  wearied  /lerse/f  with  lies,  and  her  great  scum 
went  not  forth  out  of  her :  her  scum  shall  be  in  the  fire. 

13.  In  thy  filthiness  is  lewdness:  because  I  have  purged 
thee,  and  thou  wast  not  purged,  thou  shalt  not  be  purged 
from  thy  filthiness  any  more,  till  I  have  caused  my  fury  to 
rest  upon  thee. 

14.  I  the  Lord  have  spoken  it :  it  shall  come  to  pass,  and 
I  will  do  it;  I  will  not  go  back,  neither  will  I  spare,  neither 
will  I  repent;  according  to  thy  ways,  and  according  to  thy 
doings,  shall  they  judge  thee,  saitli  the  Lord  God. 

Now  tlie  last  effort  is  made  to  cleanse  the  pot  by  means  of  the 
fierce  ordeal  of  fire  upon  it  when  empty.     The  aim  is  to  reduce  its 

filth  to  a  molten  state,  and  thus  consume  its  rust  ("scum.") 

V.  12  should  rather  be  read,  "It,"  the  pot,  "has  wearied  itself,  not 
with  "lies,"  but  with  its  great  "/aior" — i.  e.,  to  cleanse  itself  of  its 
rust  and  filth; — "but  its  great  filth  will  not  go  forth  from  it,  not 

even  Ijy  the  fire. This  verse  aims  to  say  that  this  long  protracted 

and  varied  effort  of  CJod  in  his  providence  to  reform  the  people  and 
cleanse  the  city  had  been  in  vain.  So  v.  13  teaches.  "In  thy 
filthiness  is  purposed  wickedness  (so  the  Hebrew  implies) — the  deep. 


persistent,  malign  purpose  to  push  madly  on  ii\  rebellion,  liecause 
1  have  sought  to  purge  thee,  yet  with  no  success,  I  shall  make  no 
further  effort  till  1  pour  out  my  wrath  on  thee  to  abide  upon  thee. 


through  a  long  captivity.     CJod  has  spoken  and  will  do  it! This 

is  the  outcome  of  the  "parable."  The  Lord  despairs  of  cleansing 
the  city  from  its  fixed  incrustations  of  corruption — the  residuum  of 
crime  hardened  on  at  the  bottom  of  society,  and  conseqnontly  leav- 
ening the  whole  mass  with  its  pollution ;  and  withal  adhering  so 


I 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXIV.  141 

tenaciously  that  no  ordinary  heat  and  no  other  possible  appliances 
will  remove  it  and  cleanse  the  vessel.  So  the  city  must  he  emptied 
of  all  its  inhabitants  and  then  be  thoroughly  burned  to  the  ground. 

15.  Also  the  word  of  the  Lord  came  unto  me,  saying, 

16.  Son  of  man,  behold,  I  take  away  from  thee  the  de- 
sire of  thine  eyes  with  a  stroke:  yet  neither  shalt  thou 
mourn  nor  weep,  neither  shall  thy  tears  run  down. 

17.  Forbear  to  cry,  make  no  mourning  for  the  dead,  bind 
the  tire  of  thy  head  upon  thee,  and  put  on  thy  shoes  upon 
thy  feet,  and  cover  not  thy  lip)s,  and  eat  not  the  bread  of 
men. 

18.  So  I  spake  unto  the  people  in  the  morning :  and  at 
even  my  wife  died ;  and  I  did  in  the  morning  as  I  was  com- 
manded. 

This  beautiful  descriptive  epithet,  "the  desire  of  thine  eyes,"  is 
shpwn  (v.  18)  to  mean  his  vrife — an  object  ever  grateful  to  the 
eye  and  dear  to  the  heart.  The  Lord  says,  I  am  about  to  take  her 
away  at  one  stroke,  and  you  must  refrain  from  all  the  usual  mani- 
festations of  grief.  The  shock  of  a  sore  calamity  is  sometimes  too 
great  for  tears,  too  overwhelming  to  allow  one  thought  upon  the 
forms  and  manifestations  of  sorrow.  When  men  die  by  tens  of 
thousands  on  the  field  of  battle,  who  finds  time  or  thought  for  sighs 

or  for  the  draperj;-  of  woe ! So,  in  the  destruction  of  the  temple 

and  the  fall  of  the  great  city  of  their  iathers'  sepulchers,  in  the 
slaughter  by  thousands  of  their  own  fathers,  brothers,  sisters — they 
might  well  spare  the  habiliments  of  grief  and  omit  all  its  usual  sym- 
bols.  Such  seems  to  have  been  the  lesson  intended  in  this  start- 
ling, appalling  scene. V.  17  defines  and  forbids  the  usual  indica- 
tions of  public  mournino;.  "Forbear  to  cry;  smother  thy  sighs; 
literally,  "506;  he  silent;'  push  back  the  tears.  "Bind  the  tiara 
upon  thine  head,"  for  in  grief,  this  was  removed  and  the  hair  suf- 
fered to  stream  out  dishevelled.  "Put  thy  shoes  on  thy  feet;"  for 
the  mourner  removed  his  shoes  and  walked  barefoot.  "  Cover  not 
thy  mustache,"  which  the  mourner  was  wont  to  do;  and  "eat  not 
the  bread  furnished  by  other  men;"  according  to  the  custom  of 
friends  to  furnish  bread  for  the  mourners.  See  Jer.  16:  5-8  and 
notes  there. "  So  I  spake  to  the  people  in  the  morning,"  rehears- 
ing to  them  this  fearful  word  from  the  Lord ;  "  at  even  my  wife  died," 
and  I  did  in  the  morning  [of  the  next  day]  as  I  was  commanded." 
Since  it  was  to  be  done  before  the  people  for  a  sigii  to  them,  the 
morning  of  the  ensuing  day  would  be  the  earliest  time  possible  and 
the  proper  time  for  obeying  this  divine  command. 

19.  And  the  people  said  unto  me,  Wilt  thou  not  tell  us 
what  these  things  are  to  us,  that  thou  doest  so? 

20.  Then  I  answered  them.  The  word  of  the  Lord  came 
unto  me,  saying, 


142  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXIV. 

21.  Speak  unto  the  house  of  Israel,  Thus  saith  the  Lord 
God ;  Behold,  I  will  profane  my  sanctuary,  the  excellency 
of  your  strength,  the  desire  of  your  eyes,  and  that  which 
your  soul  pitieth ;  and  your  sons  and  your  daughters  whom 
ye  have  left  shall  fall  by  the  sword. 

22.  And  ye  shall  do  as  I  have  done:  ye  shall  not  cover 
your  lips,  nor  eat  the  bread  of  men. 

23.  And  your  tires  shall  be  upon  your  heads,  and  your 
shoes  upon  your  feet :  ye  shall  not  mourn  nor  w^eep ;  but  ye 
shall  pine  away  for  your  iniquities,  and  mourn  one  toward 
another. 

The  attention  of  the  people  is  arrested,  and  they  inquire  what  all 
this  signifies  to  themselves.  The  answer  is  definite.  Eemarkably  it 
makes  special  account  of  the  destruction  of  the  temple  and  of  the 
slaughter  of  their  own  sons  and  daughters  left  behind  in  their  father- 
land. They  had  fondly  cherished  the  temple  in  their  hearts,  ac- 
counting it  both  the  glory  and  the  strength  of  their  nation,  so  re- 
garding it  especially  because  they  deemed  it  a  guaranty  of  the 
presence  and  favor  of  Almighty  God.  This  was  to  them  what 
Ezekiel's  wife  was  to  him;  *'The  desire  of  their  eyes;"  the  object 
of  their  heart's  tenderest,  deepest  sympathy;  "what  thy  soul  pities." 
No  doubt  it  was  literally  true  that  the  fall  of  the  city  involved  the 
slaughter  of  many  of  their  own  sons  and  daughters.  Under  this  ter- 
rible stroke,  which  fell  on  them  suddenly  like  the  blow  which  smote 
down  the  prophet's  wife,  they  were  forbidden  to  mourn  in  public, 
but  would  pine  away  in  their  iniquity,  i.  e. ,  under  this  terrible  in- 
fliction fi5r  their  sin,  and  might  silently  groan  ("mourn")  "one  to 
another." 

24.  Thus  Ezekiel  is  unto  you  a  sign :  according  to  all  that 
he  hath  done  shall  ye  do :  and  when  this  cometh,  ye  shall 
know  that  I  am  the  Lord  God. 

"A  sign  unto  you;"  a  visible,  significant  symbol  of  what  is  to 
befall  you  and  of  what  you  must  do  and  also  of  what  you  may  7iot 

do,  under  an  infliction  of  calamity  analogous  to  his. This  word 

rendered  "  sign"*  implies  something  specially  striking,  astounding, 
often  rendered,  "a  wonder." 

25.  Also,  thou  son  of  man,  shall  it  not  be  in  the  day  when 
I  take  from  them  their  strength,  the  joy  of  their  glory,  the 
desire  of  their  eyes,  and  that  wdiercupon  they  set  their 
minds,  their  sons  and  their  daughters, 

26.  That  he  that  escapeth  in  that  day  shall  come  unto 
thee,  to  cause  thee  to  hear  it  with  thine  ears? 

*  Not  niXi  which  is  the  more  common  word  in  such  connections,  but 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXIV.  143 

27.  In  that  day  shall  thy  mouth  be  opened  to  him  which 
is  escaped,  and  thou  shalt  speak,  and  be  no  more  dumb: 
and  thou  shalt  be  a  sign  unto  them ;  and  they  shall  know 
that  I  am  the  Lord. 

When  the  city  shall  fall  and  the  glorious  temple  go  down  under  the 
general  ruin,  and  this  great  calamity  shall  overwhelm  the  exiles  with 
grief,  then  shall  there  not  come  to  thee  a  messenger  escaping  from 
the  city  to  announce  these  heavy  tidings  in  thine  ears  ?  Then  thy 
mouth  shall  be  opened  to  him ;  thou  shalt  speak  thenceforth  freely 
and  be  no  more  dumb ;  and  the  significance  of  this  sign  shall  be- 
come obvious  to  all  the  people,  so  that  they  also  shall  at  last  know 

that  I  am  the  Lord. In  view  of  this  case  of  the  death  of  the 

prophet's  wife,  let  us  not  omit  to  note  that  the  Lord  spared  no 
pains  and  shrunk  fr^m  no  sacrifices  to  make  deep  and  solemn  im- 
pressions on  the  minds  of  the  exiles.  A  death  so  sudden  as  this; 
predicted  in  the  morning ;  occurring  by  one  swift  blow  in  the  even- 
ing; falling  on  the  beloved  wife  of  the  venerable  man  who  had 
stood  before  them  as  the  messenger  of  God ;  the  suppression  of  his 
tears  and  sighs ;  the  withholding  of  every  usual  token  of  grief;  and 
then  the  interpretation  of  these  scenes  as  referring  to  the  fall  of 
their  ovni  beloved  temple  and  the  slaughter  of  their  own  sons  and 
daughters  in  that  land  of  their  tenderest  love — constitute  a  com- 
bination of  circumstances  at  once  startling  and  solemnly  impressive. 
Truly  mi^ht  the  Lord  say,  "  What  could  I  have  done  more  to  my 
vineyard,  (my  people)  "that  I  have  not  done"  to  bring  home  to 
their  heart  the  full  sense  of  my  wrath  against  them  for  their  sins  ? 

What  shall  we  think  of  this  divinely  commissioned  prophet? 

How  did  he  feel  ?  What  did  he  say  in  the  whisperings  of  his  un- 
uttered  thought  ?  Did  he  shudder  and  recoil,  inwardly  saying.  This 
costs  me  too  much !  Must  I  be  a  sign  to  the  people  at  such  awful 
expense,  at  the  cost  of  such  harrowing  grief?  And  then,  as  if  to 
lose  my  dear  wife  at  one  blow  were  not  enough,  that  God  should 

not  let  me  shed  one  tear!  nor  breathe  out  one  audible  sigh! 

With  joy  let  us  note  that  this  record  gives  not  the  slightest  hint  of 
one  thought  of  this  sort.  So  far  as  appears,  he  bowed  himself  in 
the  dust  and  said — "It  is  the  Lord;  let  him  do  what  seemeth  him 
good."  We  may  presume  that  he  had  human  sensibilities;  but  wo 
may  also  presume  that  grace  given  him  of  God  brought  him  such 
moral  strength  that  his  spirit  was  sweetly  submissive  and  unmur- 
muring, and  his  soul  placid  under  this  sorest  of  trials  ever  known 
to  the  human  heart.  What  can  not  the  grace  of  God  do  for  his 
trusting,  obedient  people ! 

At  this  point,  the  first  part  of  Ezekiel's  prophecies  ends  and  the 
second  begins.  He  closes  a  long  series  of  messages,  varied  in  their 
forms  and  modes  of  revealing  truth,  but  scarcely  varying  at  all  in 
their  grand  theme  and  purpose,  viz.,  to  set  before  the  exiles  the 
enormity  of  their  national  sin,  the  great  wickedness  and  the  deep 
corruption  of  Judah  and  Jerusalem;  the  certainty  that  the  Lord 
would  abandon  his  temple,  city  and  people  there  to  destruction,  and 


144  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXV. 

the  terribleness  of  that  doom. The '  manifest  purpose  of  God  in 

these  revelations  to  the  exiles  was  to  convince  them  of  his  justice 
in  those  judgments;  to  give  them  a  full  sense  of  those  sins,  and  to 
lead  them  to  personal  and  sincere  repentance  and  radical  reforma- 
tion, until  they  should  themselves  be  ashamed  and  confounded, 
and  never  open  their  mouth  any  more  for  shame  for  their  own 

sins  and  those  of  their  people  and  land. So  a  remnant  are  to 

be  reclaimed  and  made  the  nucleus  in  future  years  for  replanting 
the  land  of  promise,  and  for  restoring  both  their  political  and  relig- 
ious institutions. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 


Exterminating  judgments  are  announced  against  Ammon,  vs.  1- 
7;  against  Moab,  vs.  8-11;  against  Edom,  vs.  12-14;  and  against 
Philistia,  vs.  15-17 — uniformly  for  the  same  national  sin,  viz.,  proud 
exultation  over  the  fall  of  Judah  and  Jerusalem,  and  reproach  cast 

on  the  name  of  Israel's  God  by  reason  of  their  fall. Obadiah, 

nearly  at  the  same  time,  wrote  in  the  same  strain  against  Edom. 

Ezek.  35  expands  this  prophecy  against  Edom. Jeremiah  prophe 

sied  against  the  same  four  neighboring  powers,  yet  with  a  somewhat 
broader  view  of  their  national  sins  and  especially  of  their  pride ; 
viz.,  against  Ammon,  chap.  49:  1-6;  Moab,  chap.  48;  Edom,  chap. 
49 :  7-22 ;  and  Philistia,  chap.  47.     So  also  Isaiah  and  some  of  the 

Minor  Prophets. The  scope  of  these  prophecies  is  designedly 

consolatory  to  the  true  people  of  God,  assuring  them  that  he  still 
remembered  Zion  with  tender  affection,  regarded  her  true  interests 
as  his  own;  and  therefore  would  avenge  her  upon  her  proud  and 
scornful  foes.  In  this  point  of  light,  these  prophecies  hold  an  im- 
portant place  among  the  messages  sent  of  God  by  Ezekiel  to  the 
exiled  Jews  in  Chaldea,  Their  city  in  ruins,  their  nationality 
prostrate,  and  themselves  in  exile  and  under  circumstances  of  the 
deepest  national  discouragement,  they  needed  precisely  such  assur- 
ances of  the  Lord's  tender  mercy  and  of  his  identity  of  interest 
and  sympathy  with  their  people  as  still  bearing  his  name  and  yet 
to  bear  it  before  all  the  nations  of  the  earth.  All  the  more  did 
they  need  such  words  from  Ezekiel,  because  thus  far  his  messages 
had  spoken  of  little  else  than  national  sin,  judgments,  and  ruin. 
From  this  point  their  subject  and  tone  change.  Henceforward, 
with  scarce  an  exception,  his  messages  are  encouraging  and  con- 
solatory to  all  whose  hearts  were  still  true  to  their  God. 

1.  The  word  of  the  Lord  came  again  unto  me,  saying, 

2.  Son  of  man,  set  thy  face  against  the  Ammonites,  and 
prophesy  against  them ; 

3.  And  say  unto  the  Ammonites,  Hear  the  word  of  the 
Lord  God ;  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God ;  Because  thou  saidst, 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXV.  145 

Aha,  against  my  sanctuary,  when  it  was  profaned ;  and 
against  the  land  of  Israel,  when  it  was  desolate ;  and  against 
the  house  of  Judah,  when  they  went  into  captivity  ; 

4.  Behold,  therefore,  I  will  deliver  thee  to  the  men  of  the 
east  for  a  posssesion,  and  they  shall  set  their  palaces  in  thee, 
and  make  their  dwellings  in  thee  :  they  shall  eat  thy  fruit, 
and  they  shall  drink  thy  milk. 

5.  And  I  will  make  Kabbah  a  stable  for  camels,  and  the 
Ammonites  a  couching-place  for  flocks:  and  ye  shall  know 
that  I  a7n  the  Lord. 

The  sin  for  which  Ammon  is  doomed  is  here  made  very  definite — 
exulting  triumph  over  God's  polluted  temple,  desolate  land,  and 
captive  people.  Why  should  not  the  Lord  frown  fearfully  on  such 
manifestations  of  proud  hostility  against  himself  and  his  people, 
and  make  such  enemies  an  example  of  his  righteous  justice  before 
all  the  nations  of  men  in  all  time  ?  There  the  record  stands, 
equally  in  prophecy  and  in  their  history,  witnessing  thai  the  Lord 
Almighty  will  let  no  people,  however  powerful  or  however  proud, 

contemn  his  name  with  impunity. "The  men  of  the  East" — 

God's  executioners  of  vengeance  upon  Ammon — were  the  Chaldeans, 
raised  up  in  his  providence  for  judgment,  not  on  Judah  and  Jeru- 
salem alone,  but  on  those  contiguous  nations  which  had  long  been 
deeply  sunk  in  the  same  forms  of  debasing  idolatry,  and  had  now 
filled  up  the  cup  of  their  national  sin  by  malign  hostility  against 
Israel  and  scornful  exultation  over  her  fall.  They  would  seize  the 
whole  country  of  Ammon  and  make  her  proud  capital  a  stable  for 
camels — significant  of  an  utter  overthrow  of  her  nationality. 

6.  For  thus  saith  the  Lord  God ;  Because  thou  hast 
clapped  thy  hands,  and  stamped  with  the  feet,  and  rejoiced 
in  heart  with  all  thy  despite  against  the  land  of  Israel ; 

7.  Behold,  therefore  I  will  stretch  out  my  hand  upon 
thee,'  and  will  deliver  thee  for  a  spoil  to  the  heathen ;  and 
I  will  cut  thee  off  from  the  people,  and  I  will  cause  thee 
to  perish  out  of  the  countries :  I  will  destroy  thee ;  and 
thou  shalt  know  that  I  a7n  the  Lord. 

Her  exultation  manifests  itself  in  these  violent  gestures.  "  With 
all  thy  despite,"  means  with  all  thy  pride,  in  the  form  of  the  utmost 
proud  and  haughty  scorn.  For  these  sins  the  Lord  would  cut  them 
off  from  being  a  nation  and  blot  out  their  very  name ; — a  prophecy 
which  had  its  first  fulfillment  in  the  sweep  of  ruin  brou2;ht  over 
their  land  by  the  Chaldean  power  shortly  after  the  fall  of  Jerusa- 
lem.    It  was  consummated  in  subsequent  ages. 

8.  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God ;  Because  that  Moab  and 
Seir  do  say,  Behold,  the  house  of  Judah  is  like  unto  all  the 
heathen ;  ,j 


146  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXV. 

9.  Therefore,  behold,  I  will  open  the  side  of  Moab  from 
the  cities,  from  his  cities  tvhich  are  on  his  frontiers,  the 
glory  of  the  country,  Beth-jeshimoth,  Baalmeon,  and  Kiria- 
thaim. 

10.  Unto  the  men  of  the  east  with  the  Ammonites,  and 
Avill  give  them  in  possession,  that  the  Ammonites  may  not 
be  remembered  among  the  nations. 

11.  And  I  will  execute  judgments  upon  Moab ;  and  they 
shall  know  that  I  am  the  Lord. 

The  spirit  of  Moab  and  Seir  is  essentially  the  same  with  that  of 
Ammon.  They  exult  over  Judah  as  being  like  all  the  nations  in 
having  a  patron  God  no  mightier  than  their  own  gods,  and  hence 
as  being,  at  least  equally  with  themselves,  subject  to  defeat,  cap- 
tivity, and  national  ruin.  This  was  dishonor  and  even  contempt 
toward  the  Infinite  God.  Therefore  the  Lord  will  open  the  side  of 
Moab  to  the  assaults  of  foreign  enemies  in  the  very  point  where 
she  had  imagined  her  chief  strength  lay,  viz.,  in  those  great  citiea 

on  her  frontiers  which  had  been  her  reliance  and  her  glory. 

The  men  of  the  east  who  subdued  Ammon  subdued  her. "With 

the  Ammonites,"  does  not  mean  that  the  men  of  the  east  had  them 
as  allies  in  this  invasion,  but  that  they  subdued  Moab  z'n  addition  to 
the  Ammonites. 

12.  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God;  Because  that  Edom  hath 
dealt  against  the  house  of  Judah  by  taking  vengeance,  and 
hath  greatly  offended,  and  revenged  himself  upon  them ; 

13.  Therefore  thus  saith  the  Lord  God ;  I  will  also 
stretch  out  my  hand  upon  Edom,  and  will  cut  off  man 
and  beast  from  it ;  and  I  will  make  it  desolate  from  Teman ; 
and  they  of  Dedan  shall  fall  by  the  sword. 

14.  And  I  will  lay  my  vengeance  upon  Edom  by  the 
hand  of  my  people  Israel :  and  they  shall  do  in  Edom  ac- 
cording to  mine  anger  and  according  to  my  fury ;  and  they 
shall  know  my  vengeance,  saith  the  Lord  God. 

Special  stress  is  laid  on  the  spirit  of  retaliation  and  revenge  man- 
ifest against  Israel  in  Edom.  Of  all  the  nations  adjacent  to  Israel, 
none  seem  to  have  cherished  a  deeper  animosity  or  a  meaner  re- 
venge than  the  descendants  of  Esau.  It  was  a  national  spirit,  and 
was  specially  offensive  to  God  because  of  their  early  relationship. 
Moreover  as  a  (h-eat  Father  of  nations,  bound  to  promote  fraternal 
relations  between  them,  he  could  not  but  frown  on  this  unnatural, 
supremely  selfish  and  hateful  spirit.  Let  it  stand  and  be  under- 
stood as  God's  rebuke  against  this  spirit,  whether  in  nations,  fami- 
lies, or  individuals. "  Cutting  off  man  and  beast  from  it,"  leaves 

it  an  utter  desolation,  as  it  is   this  day  and  has  been  for  many 

ages. The  last  clause  should  probably  read,  "And  even  to  De 

dan  they  shall  fall  by  the  sword;'    i.  c,  from  Teman  on  the  south  to 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXVI.  147 

Dedan  on  the  north,  the  whole  country  shall  be  laid  in  ruins. 

V.  14  states  that  this  vengeance  on  Edom  is  to  be  executed  in  part 
at  least  "by  the  hand  of  God's  people  Israel."  So  history  shows. 
The  final  destruction  of  their  nationality  was  effected  by  the  Jews 
under  John  Hyrcanus,  B.  C.  128.  Josephus  (Ant.  13:  9:  1)  gives 
a  brief  account  of  this  subjugation,  adding  that  Hyrcanus  com- 
pelled them  to  accept  circumcision,  and  thus  destroyed  their  nation- 
ality and  merged  them  into  the  Jewish  community. 

15.  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God;  Because  the  Philistines 
have  dealt  by  revenge,  and  have  taken  vengeance  with  a 
despiteful  heart,  to  destroy  it  for  the  old  hatred ; 

16.  Therefore  thus  saith  the  Lord  God;  Behold,  I  will 
stretch  out  my  hand  upon  the  Philistines,  and  I  will  cut 
off  the  Cherethims,  and  destroy  the  remnant  of  the  sea- 
coast. 

17.  And  I  will  execute  great  vengeance  upon  them  with 
furious  rebukes;  and  they  shall  know  that  I  am  the  Lord, 
when  I  shall  lay  my  vengeance  upon  them. 

The  fatal  sin  of  the  Philistines  also  was  their  spirit  of  revenge, 

animosity,   and   proud    disdain  toward  Israel. "Cherethim"  is 

nearly  synonymous  with  ''Philistines" — the  two  words  being  at 
least  sometimes  used  for  the  same  people.  See  1  Sam.  30:  14,  16, 
and  Zeph.  2:  5.     They  occupied  the  country  of  the  sea-coast,  i.  e., 

along  the  eastern  shore  of  the  Mediterranean. In  the  fulfillment 

of  this  prophecy,  the  Lord's  vengeance  was  visited  upon  them  first 
by  the  hands  of  the  Chaldeans.  Prom  this  devastation  they  never 
rose  again  to  power. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 


From  Ezekiel's  stand-point  of  view  at  Babylon,  the  great  nations 
of  the  West  and  South-west  were  Tyre  and  Egypt ; — Tyre,  the  mis- 
tress of  the  seas,  the  great  emporium  of  commerce  for  the  civilized 
world  of  that  age ;  and  Egypt,  then  as  through  all  ancient  time, 
the  powerful  sovereignty  of  North-eastern  Africa,  sitting  upon  her 
fertile  Nile,  and  enjoying  a  civilization  even  at  that  time  hoary  with 
the  lapse  of  centuries.  Ammon,  Moab,  Edom,  and  the  Philistines 
were  subordinate  powers,  closely  contiguous  to  Palestine  indeed, 
but  far  less  formidable  to  the  great  central  power  at  Babylon. 
Hence  a  very  few  words  only  sufficed  to  note  their  fortunes  and 
their  fall;  while  the  prophecies  against  Tyre  and  Egypt  are  ex- 
panded with  very  considerable  detail — three  chapters  being  devoted 

to  Tyre  and  four  to  Egypt. Territorially,  Tyre  had  little  more 

than  a  foothold  upon  the  soil  of  Western  Asia.     The  city  was  the 
empire;  but  that  city,  built  partly  on  the  main  land  yet  mostly  on 


148  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXVI. 

a  small  island  which  it  completely  covered,  was  exceedingly  strong 
by  its  maritime  position;  strong  by  its  absolute  control  over  the 
waters  which  embosomed  it;  sti-ong  in  its  vast  wealth  and  conse- 
quent ability  to  hire  soldiers  and  maintain  a  large  army  without 
drawing  upon  its  own  population.  It  must  have  been  strong  also 
through  its  commercial  and  intimate  relations,  e.  g.^  with  Carthage, 
a  colony  of  its  own  citizens,  and  with  Tartessus  in  Spain,  another 
of  its  great  trading  outposts.  Convincing  proof  of  the  great  strength 
of  Tyre  lies  in  the  fact  that  she  withstood  the  assaults  of  Nebuchad- 
nezzar during  a  siege  of  thirteen  years. 

1.  And  it  came  to  pass  in  the  eleventh  year,  in  the  first 
day  of  the  month,  that  the  word  of  the  Lord  came  unto  me, 
saying. 

Comparing  this  date  with  that  of  the  fall  of  Jerusalem,  as  in  Jer. 
42 :  6,  and  39  :  2,  it  will  be  seen  that  this  was  within  the  same  year. 
Here,  the  month  is  not  given ;  yet  partly  for  this  reason  it  is  sup- 
posed to  have  been  the  first,  since  if  it  had  been  any  other,  the 
month  would  have  been  named.  Jerusalem  was  "  broken  up"  and 
burned  in  the  fourth  month  and  ninth  day  in  the  same  year.  At 
the  date  here  given,  the  city  had  not  yet  fallen,  but  its  speedy  fall 
was  morally  certain. 

2.  Son  of  man,  because  that  Tyrus  hath  said  against 
Jerusalem,  Aha,  she  is  broken  that  was  the  gates  of  the 
people :  she  is  turned  unto  me :  I  shall  be  replenished,  noiu 
she  is  laid  waste: 

Tyre  regarded  Jerusalem  as  her  rival  in  commerce,  in  magnifi- 
cence, and  in  population.  She  was  the  "gate  of  the  people"  in 
the  sense  of  a  place  of  concourse  for  masses  of  people.  Hence 
when  she  was  broken  down,  Tyre  exulted  in  her  proud  selfishness, 
confident  that  the  fall  of  her  rival  would  conduce  to  her  own  ad- 
vantage, saying,  Her  wealth,  trade,  and  population  will  come  round 
to  augment  mine;  "1  shall  be  replenished"  by  her  being  laid 
waste. 

3.  Therefore  thus  saith  the  Lord  God;  Behold,  I  am 
against  thee,  O  Tyrus,  and  will  cause  many  nations  to  come 
up  against  thee,  as  the  sea  causeth  his  waves  to  come  up. 

4.  And  they  shall  destroy  the  walls  of  Tyrus,  and  break 
down  her  towers :  I  will  also  scrape  her  dust  from  her,  and 
make  her  like  the  top  of  a  rock. 

5.  It  shall  be  a  place  for  the  spreading  of  nets  in  the  midst 
of  the  sea :  for  I  have  spoken  it,  saith  the  Lord  God :  and  it 
shall  become  a  spoil  to  the  nations. 

6.  And  her  daughters  which  are  in  the  fields  shall  be 
slain  by  the  sword ;  and  they  shall  know  that  I  am  the 
Lord. 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXVI.  149 

The  great  King  of  nations  must  hold  them,  even  the  proudest 
of  them^  to  a  just  standard  of  national  morality.  Hence  he  could 
not  let  proud  Tyre  go  on  fostering  such  intense  and  mean  selfish- 
ness with  impunity.  "For  this  sin,  saith  the  Lord,  I  am  against 
thee,  0  Tyrus."  God  would  bring  up  many  nations  against  her, 
even  as  the  great  sea  heaves  up  its  mighty  waves  a<;ainst  the 
bulwarks  that  feeble  men  rear.  This  maritime  figure  is  entirely 
in  place  in  a  prophecy  against  Tyre.  The  island  city  was  built 
on  the  top  of  a  huge  rock.  When  the  city  became  utterly  deso- 
late, and  all  its  vast  walls,  forts  and  structures  were  demolished, 
the  surface  of  this  rock  was  laid  bare  and  became  precisely  a 
place  for  fishermen  to  spread  and  dry  their  nets.  This  prophecy 
has  long  since  been  literally  fulfilled.  Her  great  wealth,  accumu- 
lated during  ages  of  lucrative  commerce,  became  a  spoil  to  the 
nations. 

7.  For  thus  saith  the  Lord  God;  Behold,  I  will  bring 
upon  Tyrus  Nebuchadnezzar  king  of  Babylon,  a  king  of 
kings  from  the  north,  with  horses,  and  with  chariots,  and 
with  horsemen,  and  companies,  and  much  people. 

8.  He  shall  slay  with  the  sword  thy  daughters  in  the 
field:  and  he  shall  make  a  fort  against  thee,  and  cast  a 
mount  against  thee,  and  lift  up  the  buckler  against  thee. 

9.  And  he  shall  set  engines  of  war  against  thy  walls,  and 
with  his  axes  he  shall  break  down  thy  towers. 

10.  By  reason  of  the  abundance  of  his  horses  their  dust 
shall  cover  thee :  thy  walls  shall  shake  at  the  noise  of  the 
horsemen,  and  of  the  w^heels,  and  of  the  chariots,  when  he 
shall  enter  into  thy  gates,  as  men  enter  into  a  city  wherein 
is  made  a  breach. 

11.  With  the  hoofs  of  his  horses  shall  he  tread  down  all 
thy  streets :  he  shall  slay  thy  people  by  the  sword,  and  thy 
strong  garrisons  shall  go  down  to  the  ground. 

12.  And  they  shall  make  a  spoil  of  thy  riches,  and  make 
a  prey  of  thy  merchandise :  and  they  shall  break  down  thy 
walls,  and  destroy  thy  pleasant  houses :  and  they  shall  lay 
thy  stones  and  thy  timber  and  thy  dust  in  the  midst  of  the 
water. 

This  passage  predicts  the  celebrated  siege  of  Tyre  by  Nebuchad- 
nezzar which  occurred  not  long  after.  Josephus  refers  to  it  in  two 
distinct  passages  (Ant.  10:  11 :  1,  and  against  Apion  1 :  21);  in  the 
former,  citing  Philostratus  as  saying  that  "  this  king  ])csieged  Tyro 
thirteen  years  while  Ethbaal  reigned  at  Tyre;"  and  in  the  latter, 
quoting  in  general  from  the  records  of  the^Pheuicians  to  the  same 

effect. Precisely  how  this  siege  of  Tyre   terminated,  whether 

with  its  absolute  subjugation,  or  by  capitulation,  or  by  the  with- 
drawal of  the  besiegers,    is  still  in  dispute  among  antiquarians 


150  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXVI. 

The  testimony  of  Jerome,  in  his  commentary  on  Ezek.  29 :  8,  is 
quite  explicit  to  the  point  that  Nebuchadnezzar  did  capture  the 
city,  but  found  nothing  of  any  account  within  it  because  the 
Tyrians  had  previously  removed  every  thing  valuable  in  their 
ships.  There  can  be  no  reasonable  doubt  that  a  thirteen  years' 
siege  laid  and  left  the  city  mainly  in  ruins.  It  was  a  stern  and 
terrible  siege,  as  Ezekiel's  o^vn  statements  (29:  18)  abundantly 
attest.  "Nebuchadnezzar  caused  his  army  to  serve  a  great  service 
against  Tyrus ;  every  head  was  made  bald  and  every  shoulder  was 

peeled." In  v.  9,  the  effect  of  a  battering  ram  is  described  in 

place  of  giving  its  distinctive  name.  "  He  shall  bring  against  thy 
walls  the  stroke  of  what  is  over  against."  Was  this  mode  adopted 
because  Ezekiel  and  his  readers  were  not  familiar  with  an  appro- 
priate name  for  this  engine? In  the  last  clause  of  v.  11,  instead 

of  reading,  "strong  garrison,"  read — "The  statues  of  the  gods," 
in  which  lay  their  supposed  strength.  Down  went  those  statues, 
significant  of  the  utter  prostration  of  their  political  and  military 

power. That  "her  stones,  timber  and  dust  went  into  the  midst 

of  the  waters"  resulted  from  her  location  upon  an  island,  built  out 
to  the  very  water's  edge. 

13.  And  I  will  cause  the  noise  of  thy  songs  to  cease ;  and 
the  sound  of  thy  harps  shall  be  no  more  heard. 

14.  And  I  will  make  thee  like  the  top  of  a  rock :  thou 
shalt  be  a  place  to  spread  nets  upon :  thou  shalt  be  built  no 
more :  for  I  the  Lord  have  spoken  it,  saith  the  Lord  God. 

Her  "songs"  and  "harps"  indicate  that  music  was  in  a  some- 
what advanced  stage  of  cultivation. "  Thou  shalt  be  built  no 

more,"  i.  e.,  with  like  magnificence  and  strength.  The  city  rose 
again — to  be  besieged  more  than  two  centuries  later  by  Alexan- 
der— after  which  it  never  regained  its  independence,  nor  its  former 
magnificence. 

15.  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God  to  Tyrus ;  Shall  not  the 
isles  shake  at  the  sound  of  thy  fall,  when  the  wounded  cry, 
when  the  slaughter  is  made  in  the  midst  of  thee  ? 

16.  Then  all  the  princes  of  the  sea  shall  come  down  from 
their  thrones,  and  lay  away  their  robes,  and  put  olf  their 
broidered  .  garments :  they  shall  clothe  themselves  with 
trembling :  they  shall  sit  upon  the  ground,  and  shall  trem- 
ble at  ever])  moment,  and  be  astonished  at  thee. 

17.  And  they  shall  take  up  a  lamentation  for  thee,  and 
say  to  thee,  How  art  thou  destroyed,  that  ivast  inhabited  of 
seafaring  men,  the  renowned  city,  which  was  strong  in  the 
sea,  she  and  her  inhabitants,  which  cause  their  terror  to  be 
on  all  that  haunt  it ! 

18.  Now  shall  the  isles  tremble  in  the  day  of  thy  fall ; 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXVI.  151 

yea^  the  isles  that  are  in  the  sea  shall  be  troubled  at  thy 
departure. 

The  term  "  isles "  as  usual  stands  for  all  maritime  countries 
reached  by  sea,  and  here  has  special  reference  to  Cnrthage,  Tar- 
tessus,  and  all  those  regions  of  Northern  Africa  and  ISouthern  Eu- 
rope which  had  sustained  close  commercial  relations  with  Tyre. 
At  the  sound  of  her  fall  those  isles  would  shake;  their  princes 
would  come  down  from  their  thrones,  lay  oif  their  robes,  and  put  ou 
trembling,  and  sit  on  the  ground  as  men  brought  down,  despite  of 
all  their  honor,  to  their  mother  dust !  Their  mourning  comes  to  us 
in  the  life-like  form  of  the  very  words  of  their  bitter  wail  over  her 
fall :  "  How  art  thou  destroyed  whose  inhabitants  were  from  the 
seas — a  city  renoAvned,  which  was  strong,  she  and  her  people,  in 

the  sea;  impressing  her  terror  on  all  its  dwellers!" The  isles 

of  the  sea  may  have  been  troubled  at  her  departure  through   fear 
that  the  same  enemy  might  come  down  upon  themselves  next! 

19.  For  thus  saith  the  Lord  God;  When  I  shall  make 
thee  a  desolate  city,  like  the  cities  that  are  not  inhabited; 
when  I  shall  bring  uj)  the  deep  upon  thee,  and  great  waters 
shall  cover  thee  ; 

20.  AVhen  I  shall  bring  thee  down  with  them  that  de- 
scend into  the  pit,  with  the  people  of  old  time,  and  shall 
set  thee  in  the  low  j)arts  of  the  earth,  in  places  desolate  of 
old,  with  them  that  go  down  to  the  pit,  that  thou  be  not  in- 
habited ;  and  I  shall  set  glory  in  the  land  of  the  living ; 

21.  I  wilt  make  thee  a  terror,  and  thou  shall  be  no  7?iore: 
though  thou  be  sought  for,  yet  shalt  thou  never  be  found 
again,  saith  the  Lord  God. 

I  prefer  to  read  v.  20  as  the  apodosis,  i.  e.,  the  corresponding 
second  part  of  the  sentence,  thus ;  "  When  I  shall  make  thee  des- 
olate," etc.,  (v.  19);  '■'Then  (v.  20)  I  will  bring  thee  down  with 
those  that  descend  into  the  pit  to  the  ancient  people,  and  will  make 
thee  dwell  in  the  under-world — in  the  everlasting  desolations — to 
the  end  that  thou  shalt  be  inhabited  no  more,  {i.  e.,  upon  this 
earth);  "but  I  will  set  glory  in  the  land  of  the  living" — the  land 
of  my  own  people  Israel  over  whose  fall  thou  hast  exulted.  The 
idea  is  that  Tyre  goes  down  to  the  under-world,  to  live  no  more 
among  the  nations  of  this  fair  earth,  while  the  Lord  will  raise  up 

Judah  and  make  her   again  the  glory  of  all  lands. The  word 

"glory"  here  is  the  same  as  in  chap.  20:  6,  15,  and  elsewhere, 

Dan.  8:   9,  and  11:  16,  41. This  conception  of  the  grave  or  pit 

as  an  under-world  where  the  ancient  dead  have  their  long  abode, 
is  applied  here  beautifully  to  cities  and  kingdoms  which  go  down 

to  ruin  to  rise  no  more. Over  against  this  doom  of  Tyre,  thus 

perished  and  gone,  never  to  rise   in  her  glory  again,   the   Lord 
promises  to  make  the  land  of  his  own  people  Israel  once  more  the 


152  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXVII. 

glory  of  the  earth. So  perish  the  nations  and  the  people  that  set 

themselves  proudly  and  defiantly  against  the  mighty  God,  while  to 
his  people,  there  ariseth  new  joy  out  of  their  gi'ief;  new  light  from 
their  darkness ;  and  from  every  eclipse,  a  new  radiance  of  glory ! 
Who  shall  say  it  is  not  well  to  take  one's  lot  with  the  oft- 
despised  people  of  God !  Why  should  men  fear  the  trials  and  the 
darkness  that  may  be  for  a  moment  when  their  eternal  future  is  so 
sure  and  so  ineffably  glorious  ! 


CHAPTER  XXVn. 


This  remarkable  chapter  is  a  sort  of  inventory  of  the  wealth, 
greatness,  and  glory  of  ancient  Tyre,  showing  the  sources  whence 
she  drew  her  materials  and  men  for  the  commerce  and  the  carry- 
ing trade  of  the  world.  No  ancient  historian  has  ever  approxi- 
mated toward  a  statement  so  full  and  complete  as  this  of  the  busi- 
ness relations  which  existed  in  that  age  among  the  nations  of  the 
world.  Here  is  Tyre,  the  commercial  center  of  the  world,  reach- 
ing forth  her  arms  in  every  direction  to  make  every  land  contribute 
its  best  products  in  men,  in  wisdom,  martial  prowess,  nautical  skill, 
and  in  every  sort  of  material  to  stock  her  markets,  or  to  minister  to 
her  facilities  for  transportation.  It  is  a  wonderful  description ;  yet 
it  stands  here,  not  to  give  us  the  barren  facts  of  so  much  commerce 
and  so  much  splendor  in  the  arts,  but  to  show  liow  much  human 
greatness  and  glory  went  down  in  one  fearful  fall  when  the  Al- 
mighty arose  in  his  wrath  to  smite  her  bulwarks  and  sink  all  her 
glory  in  the  depths  of  ruin.  By  how  much  the  more  sublime  the 
height  of  her  glory,  by  so  much  the  more  astounding  was  the  crash 

of  her  fall ! The  revelator  John  had  his  eye  on  this  chapter  in 

his  magnificent  description  of  the  fall  of  Babylon  the  Great  (Rev. 

1.  The  word  of  the  Lord  came  again  unto  me,  saying, 

2.  Now,  thou  son  of  man,  take  up  a  lamentation  for 
Tyrus ; 

3.  And  say  unto  Tyrus,  O  thou  that  art  situate  at  the 
entry  of  the  sea,  which  art  a  merchant  of  the  people  for 
many  isles.  Thus  saitli  the  Lord  God ;  O  Tyrus,  thou  hast 
said,  I  am  of  perfect  beauty. 

Tyre  was  proud  of  lier  wealth  and  splendor.  This  was  her  na- 
tional sin,  and  wrought  her  ruin.  She  gloried  in  her  perfect 
beauty,  and  so  became  reckless  of  the  claims  of  God  and  regardless 
of  the  obligations  of  common  humanity  and  morality.  The  mean 
seltishness  in  which  she  gloated  over  the  fall  of  Jerusalem  is  made 
prominent  in  the  previous  chapter  (26 :  2).  The  prophet  Amos 
(1 :  *J)  gives  yet  another  telling  fact;  viz.,  that  she  sold  all  her  cap- 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXVII.  153 

tives  taken  in  war  into  slavery  in  Edom — as  if  any  thing  were  right 

in  trade  and  for  gain!     V.  13  refers  to  her  skive-trade. "At  the 

entry  of  the  sea."  Tyre  was  the  commercial  port  for  the  whole 
eastern  shore  of  the  Mediterranean.  This  vast  body  of  water  was 
practically  in  those  times  what  its  name  indicates,  the  midland  sea 
of  the  nations,  begirt  on  every  side  with  the  civilization,  the  in- 
dustry, and  the  wealth  of  the  known  world. The  word  rendered 

"merchant"  implies  that  she  had  the  carrying  trade  of  the  world, 
transporting  the  commodities  of  the  great  East  to  the  West,  and  of 
the  great  West  to  the  East. 

4.  Thy  borders  are  in  tlie  midst  of  the  seas,  thy  builders, 
have  perfected  thy  beauty. 

5.  They  have  made  all  thy  s/t?j9-boards  of  fir-trees  of  Se- 
nir:  they  have  taken  cedars  from  Lebanon  to  make  masts 
for  thee. 

6.  Of  the  oaks  of  Bashan  have  they  made  thine  oars;  the 
company  of  the  Ashurites  have  made  thy  benches  of  ivory, 
brougJit  out  of  the  isles  of  Chittim. 

7.  Fine  linen  with  broidered  work  from  Egypt  was  that 
which  thou  spreadest  forth  to  be  thy  sail ;  blue  and  purple 
from  the  isles  of  Elishah  was  that  which  covered  thee. 

In  V.  5,  "  Senir"  is  used  for  a  part  or  the  whole  of  Mt.  Hermon  in 
the  country  of  Ammon.      These   "ship-boards"   were   ship-decks^ 

made  double,  as  the  dual  number  of  the  noun  indicates. In  v.  6 

Gesenius  translates,  not — "the  company  of  the  Ashurites" — but, 
"thy  benches  "(for  the  rowers  to  sit  upon)  "were  of  ivory  inlaid 
in  the  Sherbin  cedar:"  literally,  "were  of  ivory,  the  daughter  of 
the  Sherbin  cedar."  The  statement  illustrates  the  magnificence 
and  finish  of  her  appointments  for  her  carrying  trade.  This  cedar, 
noted  for  being  straight  and  tall,  came  from  the  Island  of  Cyprus. 

"Fine  hnen  of  Egypt  was  spread  for  her  flag^  her  banners — 

not  her  "sail" — for  the  sails  would  require  strength  rather  than 

beauty. "Elishah"  is  probably  Elis,  a  district  of  Peloponnesus, 

in  Greece. 

8.  The  inhabitants  of  Zidon  and  Arvad  were  thy  mari- 
ners: thy  wise  men,  O  Tyrus,  that  were  in  thee,  were  thy 
pilots. 

9.  The  ancients  of  Gebal  and  the  wise  men  thereof  were 
in  thee  thy  calkers :  all  the  ships  of  the  sea  with  their  mar- 
iners were  in  thee  to  occupy  thy  merchandise. 

10.  They  of  Persia  and  of  Lud  and  of  Phut  were  in  thine 
army,  thy  men  of  war :  they  hanged  the  shield  and  helmet 
in  thee ;  they  set  forth  thy  comeliness. 

11.  The  men  of  Arvad  with  thine  army  ivere  upon  thy 
walls  round  about,  and  the  Gammadims  were  in  thy  towers  : 


154  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXVII. 

they  hanged  their  shields  upon  thy  walls  round  about ;  they 
made  thy  beauty  perfect. 

In  V.  8  the  word  for  "  mariners  "  means  rowers^  indicating  the 
great  fact  of  that  age,  viz.,  that  human  muscle  was  the  chief  reli- 
ance for  propelling  power.     The  application  of  steam  power  was 

then  unknown  and  skill  in  the  use  of  sails  was  in  its  infancy. 

The    word    for    "pilots"    bears   the    wider    sense    of  seamen. 

"Calkers;"    literally,  men  to  make   the  joints   strong,  water-tight. 

The  last  clause  of  v.  9  means,  not  precisely  to  "occupy  thy 

merchandise,  but  rather,  to  exchange  thy  commodities;  to  do  the 

business   of  traffic,  barter,   commerce. She  hired  her  soldiers 

from  Persia,  in  the  far  east ;  and  from  Lud  and  Phut,  countries  of 

northern  Africa,   lying  west  of  Egypt,  descendants  of  Ham. 

Shields  and  helmets  were  hung  up  when  not  in  immediate  use. 
These  men  were  perhaps  her  standing  army  on  garrison  duty  for 

home  defense.     They  heightened  her  splendor  ("  comeliness)." 

In  V.  11,  "Gammadim"  is  a  common  (not  a  proper)  noun,  meaning 
(by  etymology)  the  brave  warriors  who  cut  down  the  enemy  as  the 
woodman  fells  trees. 

12.  Tarshish  ivas  thy  merchant  by  reason  of  the  multi- 
tude of  all  kind  of  riches ;  with  silver,  iron,  tin,  and  lead, 
they  traded  in  thy  fairs. 

13.  Javan,  Tubal,  and  Meshech,  they  were  thy  merchants: 
they  traded  the  persons  of  men  and  vessels  of  brass  in  thy 
market. 

14.  They  of  the  house  of  Togarmah  traded  in  thy  fairs 
with  horses  and  horsemen  and  mules. 

15.  The  men  of  Dedan  n'ere  thy  merchants;  many  isles 
were  the  merchandise  of  thy  hand :  they  brought  thee  for  a 
present,  horns  of  ivory  and  ebony. 

16.  Syria  was  thy  merchant  by  reason  of  the  multitude 
of  the  w^ares  of  thy  making :  they  occupied  in  thy  fairs  with 
emeralds,  purple,  and  broidered  work,  and  fine  linen,  and 
coral,  and  agate. 

"Tarshish,"  Tartessus  in  Spain,  supplied  largely  the   minerals 

most  used  in  the  arts.     So  ancient  history  testifies. The  last 

clause  means;  They  replenished  thy  markets  with  these  commodi- 
ties. "Javan,"  strictly  ancient  Ionia;  " Tubal  and  Meshech,"  also 
countries  of  Asia  Minor,  sold  slaves  in  her  market.  "Togarmah" 
was  a  region  yet  farther  north,  supposed  to  be  Armenia,  peopled 
with  descendants  of  Gomer  throus^h  Torgom.     They  abounded  in 

horses. Dedan  on  the  Persian  Gulf,  far  in  the  south,  is  supposed 

to  have  been  an  ancient  Phcnician  colony.  The  maritime  places 
adjacent  are  referred  to  here  as  the  "  many  isles  "  which  supplied 
merchandise    to  the  hand  of  Tyre.     Ivory,  and  ebony  (literally 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXVII.  155 

stone-wood  for  its  hardness),  were  their  products. Syria  was  pre- 
eminently the  manufacturing  country. 

17.  Jiidah,  and  the  land  of  Israel,  they  were  thy  mer- 
chants; tliey  traded  in  thy  market  wheat  of  Minnith  and 
Pannag,  and  honey,  and  oil,  and  balm. 

18.  Damascus  ivas  thy  merchant  in  the  multitude  of  the 
wares  of  thy  making,  for  the  multitude  of  all  riches ;  in  the 
wine  of  Helbon,  and  white  wool. 

19.  Dan  also  and  Javan  going  to  and  fro  occupied  in  thy 
fairs :  bright  iron,  cassia,  and  calamus,  w^ere  in  thy  market. 

20.  Dedan  was  thy  merchant  in  precious  clothes  for 
chariots. 

Judah  and  Israel  supplied  the  staple  articles  of  food. "  Min- 
nith" was  a  place  in  the  land  of  Ammon  Avhence  choice  wheat 
came.      "Pannag"    is  probably  a  common  noun,   meaning  sweet 

cahe. The  same  view  as  to  the  nature  of  the  trade  between  Tyre 

and  Israel  appears  in  the  negotiations  between  Hiram  and  Solomon 
(1  Kings  5:  9-11).  Hiram  said,  "Thou  shalt  accomplish  my  de- 
sire in  giving  food  for  my  household."  "  vSolomon  gave  Hiram 
twenty  thousand  measures  of  wheat  for  food  for  his  household  and 

twenty  measures  of  pure  oil  year  by  year." Damascus  was  even 

then  celebrated  for  her  manufactures.  Her  skill  in  fine  cloths  and 
especially  in  silks  has  given  the  term  "  Damasks"  an  enduring  place 

in  human  language. In  v.  19  Gesenius   reads,  not  "  Dan  also," 

but  Yedan — making  the  first  letter  a  component  part  of  the  proper 
name.  This  was  a  city  of  Arabia,  said  to  have  produced  anciently 
these  very  commodities.  "Javan,"  in  this  verse,  he  supposes  to 
have  been  also  an  Arabian  city,  as  well  as  Dedan.  The  word  ren- 
dered, "going  to  and  fro,"  is  thought  to  refer  to  sjnnning ;  so  that 
the  clause  means,  "they  set  out  spun-work  in  thy  fairs." 

21.  Arabia,  and  all  the  princes  of  Kedar,  they  occupied 
with  thee  in  lambs,  and  rams,  and  goats :  in  these  were  they 
thy  merchants. 

22.  The  merchants  of  Sheba  and  Raamah,  they  were  thy 
merchants:  they  occupied  in  thy  fairs  with  chief  of  all 
spices,  and  with  all  precious  stones,  and  gold. 

23.  Haran,  and  Canneh,  and  Eden,  the  merchants  of 
Sheba,  Assliur,  and  Chilmad,  ivere  thy  merchants. 

24.  These  were  thy  merchants  in  all  sorts  of  things,  in 
blue  clothes,  and  broidered  work,  and  in  chests  of  rich  ap- 
parel, bound  with  cords,  and  made  of  cedar,  among  thy 
merchandise. 

That  herds  and  flocks  were  the  commodities  of  Arabia  and  Ke- 
dar is  in  harmony  with  all  antiquity.  Isaiah  sang  of  "  the  flocks 
of  Kedar  "  (chap.  60:  7),  and  in  the  same  connection,  of  "  the  gold 


156  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXVII. 

and  incense  of  Sheba"    (chap.  GO:   6). This   Raamah    lay   in 

south-east  Arabia,  associated  naturally  Avith  Sheba.  So  in  Gen.  10 : 
7,  and  1  Chron.  1 :  9. V.  23  groups  several  points  in  ancient  As- 
syria ;  Ilaran,  known  in  the  early  history  of  Abraham ;  Canneh, 
probably  the  "  Calno"  of  Isaiah's  time,  (chap.  10:  9)  and  the  Ctesi- 

phon  of  the  Greeks;  Eden  and  Chilmad  are  not  well  known. 

The  general  showing  is  to  the  effect  that  the  whole  civilized  world 
brought  their  commodities  to  one  grand  emporium  in  ancient  Tyre. 

25.  The  ships  of  Tarshish  did  sing  of  tliee  in  thy  market  ; 
and  thou  wast  replenished,  and  made  very  glorious  in  the 
midst  of  the  seas. 

The  original  seems  to  mean;  not,  "did  sing  of  thee,"  etc.,  but 
were  carriers  of  thy  merchandise.  So  Gesenius  and  Maurer.  This 
completes  the  category. 

26.  Thy  rowers  have  brought  thee  into  great  waters :  the 
east  wind  hath  broken  thee  in  the  midst  of  the  seas. 

27.  Thy  riches,  and  thy  fairs,  thy  merchandise,  thy  mar- 
iners, and  thy  pilots,  thy  calkers,  and  the  occupiers  of  thy 
merchandise,  and  all  thy  men  of  war,  that  are  in  thee,  and 
in  all  thy  company  which  is  in  the  midst  of  thee,  shall  fall 
into  the  midst  of  the  seas  in  the  day  of  thy  ruin. 

Here  the  discourse  turns  from  her  glory  and  greatness  to  her 
fall.  It  was  as  if  her  rowers  had  brought  her  into  great  waters, 
to  be  sunk  there  with  all  her  wealth  by  the  mighty  east  winds  of 
that  inland  sea.  Then  by  how  much  the  greater  her  freight  of 
wealth,  merchandise,  mariners,  mercenary  soldiers,  men  of  all 
business  and  population  of  every  sort;  by  so  much  the  more  ter- 
rible the  fearful  fall  that  would  engulf  her  in  the  mighty  deep  to 
rise  no  more ! 

28.  The  suburbs  shall  shake  at  the  sound  of  the  cry  of 
thy  pilots. 

29.  And  all  that  handle  the  oar,  the  mariners,  and  all 
the  pilots  of  the  sea,  shall  come  down  from  their  ships, 
they  shall  stand  upon  the  land ;     • 

30.  And  shall  cause  their  voice  to  be  licard  against  thee, 
and  shall  cry  bitterly,  and  shall  cast  up  dust  upon  their 
heads ;  they  shall  wallow  themselves  in  the  ashes : 

31.  And  they  shall  nuike  themselves  utterly  bald  for 
thee,  and  gird  them  with  sackcloth,  and  they  shall  weep  for 
for  thee  with  bitterness  of  heart  and  bitter  Availing. 

32.  And  in  their  wailing  they  shall  take  up  a  lamentation 
for  thee,  and  lament  over  thee,  saying,  What  citij  is  like 
Tyrus,  like  the  destroyed  in  the  midst  of  the  sea  ? 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXVIII.  157 

This  is  the  mourning  and  the  wailing  over  her  fall.  The  prophet 
groups  together  all  the  usual  oriental  symbols  and  modes  of  ex- 
pressing the  most  intense  grief.  The  last  clause  of  v.  32  is  spe- 
cially expressive,  where  instead  of,  "like  the  destroyed,"  etc.,  I 
would  read,  "  as  one  hushed  to  dead  silence  in  the  midst  of  the  sea," 
in  contrast  with  the  hum  and  noise  of  her  busy  commerce  and  the 
myriad  sounds  of  a  great  city  of  trade. 

33.  AVlien  thy  wares  went  forth  out  of  the  seas,  thou 
filledst  many  people ;  tliou  didst  enrich  the  kings  of  the 
earth  with  the  multitude  of  thy  riches  and  of  thy  merchan- 
dise. 

34.  In  the  time  when  thou  shalt  be  broken  by  the  seas  in 
the  depths  of  the  waters,  thy  merchandise  and  all  thy  com- 
pany in  the  midst  of  thee  shall  fall. 

35.  All  the  inhabitants  of  the  isles  shall  be  astonished  at 
thee,  and  their  kings  shall  be  sore  afraid,  they  shall  be 
troubled  in  their  countenance. 

36.  The  merchants  among  the  people  shall  hiss  at  thee ; 
thou  shalt  be  a  terror,  and  never  shalt  be  any  more. 

Once  so  great,  enriching  kings  from  thy  stores  of  wealth;  now 
broken,  impoverished;  the  isles  astonished  at  thy  fall;  the  kings 
of  the  earth  appalled  before  such  retribution  and  the  merchants 
of  the  earth,  once  joyous  in  thy  traffic,  now  hissing  contemptuously 
over  thy  ruin : — what  a  scene  is  this !  How  fraught  with  impres- 
sive lessons  on  the  frailty  of  human  wealth  and  grandeur,  and  the 

folly  of  human  pride ! Let  those  who  give  their  hearts  to  the 

attractions  of  wealth  and  splendor,  or  to  the  charms  of  business 
and  gain,  pause  over  this  lesson  and  ask,  What  wisdom  is  here  for 
us?  Let  the  nations  that  are  treading  in  the  steps  of  ancient 
Tyre  think  of  her  sins  and  of  her  consequent  doom !  No  securi- 
ties are  too  substantial  to  be  utterly  broken  down.  No  guaranty 
for  the  permanence  of  wealth  and  glory  will  stand  when  God  arises 
to  call  men  to  their  moral  account ! 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 


In  this  chapter  judgments  on  Tyre  continue  throu«Th  vs.  1-19 ; 
then  on  Zidon  through  vs.  20-26.  The  judgments  against  Tyre  are 
specially  directed  to  "the  prince  of  T5a-us,"  (v.  2,)  and  to  "the 
king  "  (v.  12),  for  his  great  pride.  The  king  is  probably  a  repre- 
sentative man ;  first,  the  embodiment  of  the  nation's  pride ;  then, 
the  symbol  of  her  doom. 

1.  The  word  of  the  Lord  came  again  unto  me,  saying, 


158  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXVIIL 

2.  Son  of  man,  say  unto  the  prince  of  Tyrus,  Thus  saith 
the  Lord  God ;  Because  thy  heart  is  lifted  up,  and  thou 
hast  said,  I  am  a  god,  I  sit  in  the  seat  of  God,  in  the  midst 
of  the  seas ;  yet  thou  art  a  man,  and  not  God,  though  thou 
set  thy  heart  as  the  heart  of  God : 

3.  Behold,  thou  ar^  wiser  than  Daniel ;  there  is  no  secret 
that  they  can  hide  from  thee : 

4.  With  thy  wisdom  and  with  thine  understanding  thou 
hast  gotten  thee  riches,  and  hast  gotten  gold  and  silver  into 
thy  treasures : 

5.  By  thy  great  wisdom  and  by  thy  traffic  hast  thou  in- 
creased thy  riches,  and  thy  heart  is  lifted  up  because  of 
thy  riches. 

The  latter  part  of  v.  2  I  would  translate  thus  :  "  Because  thou 
hast  said,  I  am  God ;  I  sit  in  the  seat  of  God  in  the  midst  of  the 
seas; — but  thou  art  man  and  not  God,  and  yet  thou  dost  set  thy 
heart  as  the  heart  of  God."  "  Man  "  here  is  frail  man,  of  dust.  The 
special  point  of  the  affirmation  is  that,  being  only  frail  and  mortal — 
nothing  but  man  in  his  weak  estate — he  should  yet  most  unreas- 
onably, proudly   and  wickedly,  assume   to   be  God  and  think  of 

himself  and  bear  himself  as  the  Almighty  Lord  of  all. The 

words,  "Thou  art  wiser  than  Daniel,"  give  not  the  view  of  God 

but  the  view  of  this  prince  of  Tyre.     So  he  thinks  of  himself 

Tyre  had  manifested  worldly  wisdom  in  her  business  and  trade, 
and  becoming  rich  thereby  had  also  become  excessively  proud — no 
uncommon  result  of  that  business  capacity  which  insures  wealth. 

The  Lord  intends  to  make  her  case   an  admonition  to  every 

man  of  like  wisdom  and  of  similar  success,  against  a  similar  pride 
and  a  like  fearful  doom. 

6.  Therefore  thus  saith  the  Lord  God ;  Because  thou  hast 
set  thy  heart  as  the  heart  of  God ; 

7.  Behold,  therefore  I  will  bring  strangers  upon  thee, 
the  terrible  of  the  nations :  and  they  shall  draw  their  swords 
against  the  beauty  of  thy  wisdom,  and  they  shall  defile  thy 
brightness. 

8.  They  shall  bring  thee  down  to  the  pit,  and  thou  shalt 
die  the  deaths  of  them  that  are  slain  in  the  midst  of  the 
seas. 

9.  Wilt  thou  yet  say  before  him  that  slayeth  thee,  I  am 
God  ?  but  thou  shalt  be  a  man,  and  no  God,  in  the  hand  of 
him  that  slayeth  thee. 

10.  Thou  shalt  die  the  deaths  of  the  uncircumcised  by 
the  hand  of  strangers :  for  I  have  spoken  it,  saith  the  Lord 
God. 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXVIII.  159 

.  These  "strangers,"  "the  terrible  of  the  nations,"  arc  primarily 
the  Chaldeans,  whose  fearful  onslaught  and  siege  of  thirteen  years' 
duration  brought  death  to  multitudes  of  her  sons  and  daufhters 
and  ruin  over  her  fair  city. "  Against  the  beauty  of  thy  wis- 
dom," is  beauty  in  the  arts,  such  as  manifests  peculiar  skill,  "  wis- 
dom."  In  V.  8  the  sense  is.  Thou  Tyrus,  although  in  the  midst 

of  the  seas,  and  therefore  supposing  thyself  safe,  shalt  yet  die  the 
death  of  those  who  are  pierced  through  with  the  sword.  "In  the 
midst  of  the  seas,"  gives,  not  the  manner  of  being  slain,  but  the 

reason  why  she  deemed  herself  secure. Then  and  there,  in  the 

very  presence  of  those  stalwart  arms  and  drawn  swords,  wilt  thou 
proudly  say,  I  am  God  ?  Thy  doom  shall  show  that  thou  art  only 
frail  man  and  not  God.  "Thou  shalt  die  the  death  of  the  uncir- 
cumcised" — the  profane  and  impious  whom  God  dooms  to  perish. 

11.  Moreover  the  word  of  the  Lord  came  unto  me,  saying, 

12.  Son  of  man,  take  up  a  lamentation  upon  the  king  of 
Tyrus,  and  say  unto  him,  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God ;  Thou 
sealest  up  the  sum,  full  of  wisdom,  and  perfect  in  beauty. 

13.  Thou  hast  been  in  Eden  the  garden  of  God;  every 
precious  stone  was  thy  covering,  the  sardius,  topaz,  and  the 
diamond,  the  beryl,  the  onyx,  and  the  jasper,  the  sapphire, 
the  emerald,  and  the  carbuncle,  and  gold :  the  workmanship 
of  thy  tabrets  and  of  thy  pipes  was  prepared  in  thee  in  the 
day  that  thou  wast  created. 

These  verses  are  not  so  much  God's  admission  of  what  is  true 

of  Tyre  as  his  representation  of  what  she  thinks  of  herself. 

"Thou  sealest  up  the  sum,"  seems  to  mean;  Thou  hast  filled  thine 
own  idea  of  perfection,  as  when  any  required  sum  is  fully  made 

up,  it  is  sealed  to  indicate  that  nothing  more  need  be  added. 

"Eden,  the  garden  of  God,"  man's  primeval  paradise,  fills  the  con- 
ception of  beauty.  Such  in  her  own  esteem  was  the  state  of  Tyre 
when  she  sat  proudly,  enriched  with  the  wealth  of  the  nations  and 

shining  in  their  concentrated  splendor. This  accumulation  of 

terms  for  gems  and  precious  stones  shows  at  least  that  a  great 
variety  of  them  were  well  known  and  much  valued  as  objects  of 
enduring  beauty. In  the  last  clause  of  v.  13,  the  words  ren- 
dered "tabrets"  and  "pipes"  seem  not  to  refer  to  musical  instru- 
ments, but  to  the  bezel  or  cavity  into  which  gems  were  set.  The 
general  idea  is.  Thou  wast  ordained  to  this  wealth  and  splendor 
from  the  day  when  thou  wast  founded  as  a  city  and  nation.  Tyre  . 
had  always  been  a  great  mart  of  commerce  and  a  home  for  its 
wealth  and  glory. 

14.  Thou  art  the  anointed  clierub  that  covereth;  and  I 
have  set  thee  so  :  thou  wast  upon  the  holy  mountain  of  God ; 
thou  hast  walked  up  and  down  in  the  midst  of  the  stones  of 
fire. 


160  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXVIII. 

15.  Thou  wast  perfect  in  thy  ways  from  the  day  that  thou 
wast  created,  till  iniquity  was  found  in  thee. 

"Anointed"  is  probably  not  the  idea,  but  rather — "the  cherub 
of  expanded  wing" — with  allusion  to  the  cherubim  in  the  most  holy 
place,  whose  wings  were  extended  over  the  mercy-seat.  The  origi- 
nal verb  represents  the  two  correlated  ideas,  (1.)  of  moving  the 
hands  outward  from  the  person  and  from  each  other  as  in  expand- 
ing; and  (2.)  of  anointing  by  a  similar  use  of  the  hands.  Here  we 
have  the  primary  idea. The  allusion  to  the  cherubim  in  the  tem- 
ple is  still  further  carried  out  in  the  phrase,  "  the  holy  mountain  of 
God,"  that  on  which  the  temple  stood,  as  in  Isa.  11:  9;  "in  all  my 
holy  mountain;"  and  also  Isa.  56  :  7;  "  them  will  I  bring  to  my  holy 

mountain,"  etc. "The  stones  of  fire"  are  those  precious  stones, 

gems,  that  sparkle  and  flash  as  if  they  were  stones  of  fire.  Up  and 
down  amid  these  the  king  of  Tyre  had  walked.  In  all  his  ways 
this  monarch  had  enjoyed  the  perfection  of  earthly  glory  and  splen- 
dor from  the  very  foundation  of  the  city  and  kingdom  until  iniquity 
was  found  in  him  and  the  hand  of  the  Almighty  came  down  upon 
him  in  righteous  judgment. 

16.  By  the  multitude  of  thy  merchandise  they  have  filled 
the  midst  of  thee  with  violence,  and  thou  hast  sinned :  there- 
fore I  will  cast  thee  as  profane  out  of  the  mountain  of  God : 
and  I  will  destroy  thee,  O  covering  cherub,  from  the  midst 
of  the  stones  of  fire. 

17.  Thy  heart  was  lifted  up  because  of  thy  beauty ;  thou 
hast  corrupted  thy  wisdom  by  reason  of  thy  brightness :  I 
will  cast  thee  to  the  ground,  I  will  lay  thee  before  kings, 
that  they  may  behold  thee. 

18.  Thou  hast  defiled  thy  sanctuaries  by  the  multitude  of 
thine  iniquities,  by  the  iniquity  of  thy  traffic ;  therefore  will 
I  bring  forth  a  fire  from  the  midst  of  thee,  it  shall  devour 
thee ;  and  I  will  bring  thee  to  ashes  lipon  the  earth  in  the 
sight  of  all  of  them  that  behold  thee.  ' 

19.  All  they  that  know  thee  among  the  people  shall  be 
astonished  at  thee:  thou  shalt  be  a  terror,  and  never  shalt 
thou  he  any  more. 

In  the  midst  of  this  great  traffic  and  by  consequence  of  it,  Tyre 
had  become  "full  of  violence" — the  usual  phrase  to  denote  viola- 
tions of  person,  assaults,  bloodshed,  insecurity  of  life.  "And  so," 
or  "and  then  thou  didst  sin^'  in  the  emphatic  sense;  become  aban- 
doned  and   outbreaking   in   thine    immoralities. The   language 

which  describes  her  doom  is  transferred  from  the  account  of  her 
previous  splendor.  Once  a  cherub,  sitting  in  glory  in  the  holy 
mount  of  God  amid  gems  sparkling  with  luster ;  now  the  Lord  will 
cast  her  as  a  profane  thing  down  from  his  own  holy  mount  and 
destroy  her.     Beauty  and  wisdom  had  been  her  snare,  and  now 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXVIII.  161 

become  her  curse. "The  iniquity  of  thy  traffic  (v.  18)  I  take  to 

be  the  corrupting  influence  of  thy  trade — the  moral  perversity  be- 
gotten by  the  arts  of  trade.  The  original  impHes  this.  "Therefore 
I  will  bring  forth  a  fire  from  the  midst  of  thee  that  shall  devour 
thee,"  intimates  that  sin  works  out  its  own  doom — generates  the 
causes  that  bring  retribution  upon  the  sinner.  The  judgments  on 
Tyre  should  fill  the  nations  with  amazement ;  should  become  a  ter- 
ror to  the  wicked  who  would  fear  a  like  doom  for  their  own  sins. 

"And  never  shalt  thou  be  any  more."     The  full  measure  of 

this  doom  did  not  come  with  the  siege  by  Nebuchadnezzar,  for  Tyre 
recovered  in  some  degree  from  this  first  blow.  Another  blow  fell 
on  her  from  the  hand  of  Alexander,  two  hundred  and  fifty  years 
later.  Saracen  and  Turk  have  finished  the  work  of  her  destruction. 
She  has  come  at  last  to  be  only  a  naked  rock  on  which  fishermen 
dry  their  nets,  as  the  prophet  said. 

20.  Again  the  word  of  the  Lord  came  unto  me,  saying, 

21.  Son  of  man,  set  thy  face  against  Zidon,  and  prophesy 
against  it, 

22.  And  say.  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God;  Behold,  I  am 
against  thee,  O  Zidon ;  and  I  will  be  glorified  in  the  midst 
of  thee :  and  they  shall  know  that  I  cmi  the  Lord,  when  I 
shall  have  executed  judgments  in  her,  and  shall  be  sancti- 
fied in  her. 

23.  For  I  will  send  into  her  pestilence,  and  blood  into 
her  streets;  and  the  wounded  shall  be  judged  in  the  midst 
of  her  by  the  sword  upon  her  on  every  side ;  and  they  shall 
know  that  I  am  the  Lord. 

24.  And  there  shall  be  no  more  a  pricking  brier  unto  the 
house  of  Israel,  nor  any  grieving  thorn  of  all  that  are  round 
about  them,  that  despised  them ;  and  they  shall  know  that 
I  am  the  Lord  God. 

Zidon,  the  subject  of  this  prophecy,  lying  but  twenty  miles  north 
of  Tyre ;  herself  like  Tyre  situated  on  the  Mediterranean,  yet  never 
like  Tyre  distinguished  for  trade  but  rather  for  skill  in  manufac- 
tures— was  the  more  ancient,  appearing  in  Bible  history.  Gen.  10: 
15,  19,  and  Josh.  11:  8,  and  19:  28 — in  these  two  latter  cases  as 
"Great  Zidon."     The  references  to  it  in  Judg.  1:  31,\and  18:  28, 

indicate  its  military  strength. This  prophecy  against  Zidon  is 

brief;  does  not  specify  her  sins  particularly,  but  declares  that  God 

will  he  glorified  and  sanctified  in  his  judgments  upon  her.* 

These  contiguous  powers  which  had  been  as  pricking  briers  and 
painful  thorns  to  Israel  and  which  had  contemptuously  despised 
her,  should  be  utterly  destroyed  and  be  no  more.  They  should  be 
made  to  know  that  Jehovah  is  the  living  God. 

'■'  In  V.  23  the  verb  rendered,  "  shall  he  judged  in  the  midst  of  her  by  the 
sword,"  should  rather  read;  shcdl  fall— the  root  of  the  verb  being  not 
S^3>  as  our  translators  assumed,  but  ^21- 


162  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXIX. 

25.  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God;  "When  I  shall  have  gath- 
ered the  house  of  Israel  from  the  people  among  whom  they 
are  scattered,  and  shall  be  sanctified  in  them  in  the  sight 
of  the  heathen,  then  shall  they  dwell  in  their  land  that  I 
have  given  to  my  servant  Jacob. 

26.  And  they  shall  dwell  safely  therein,  and  shall  build 
houses,  and  plant  vineyards ;  yea,  they  shall  dwell  with  con- 
fidence, when  I  have  executed  judgments  upon  all  those  that 
desj)ise  them  round  about  them;  and  they  shall  know^  that 
I  am  the  Lord  their  God. 

From  these  particular  cases,  the  Lord  advances  to  the  general 
truth — "No  weapon  formed  against  Zion  shall  prosper."  When 
the  Lord  shall  gather  his  people  home  from  their  dispersions  and 
shall  be  sanctified  in  them  before  all  the  heathen,  they  shall  dwell  in 
safety  from  all  their  foes.  The  Lord  will  surely  execute  exterminat- 
ing judgments  on  all  their  determined  enemies.  So  true  is  it  that  God 
stands  with  and  for  his  people,  and  will  surely  prove  himself  their 
Redeemer  and  Savior.  The  world  shall  yet  know  his  power  to  save 
his  trusting  children,  befriend  his  own  cause,  and  fill  all  the  earth 
with  his  glory. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 


With  this  chapter  commences  a  series  of  prophecies  against 
Egypt,  filling  four  chapters.  The  first  begins  with  the  date  of  "the 
tenth  year,  tenth  month,"  etc.,  one  month  and  eighteen  days  earlier 
than  the  date  of  the  preceding  prophecy  against  Tyre.  Both  fall 
within  the  period  of  the  siege  of  Jerusalem. Y&.  17-21  consti- 
tute a  second  part  of  this  chapter,  of  later  date  by  a  fraction  over 
sixteen  years.  Manifestly  this  was  given  to  the  prophet  after  the 
thirteen  years'  siege  of  Tyre  by  Nebuchadnezzar  had  terminated. 
Since  the  years  of  Zedekiah's  reign  correspond  very  nearly  with 
the  years  of  Jehoiachin's  captivity  (the  Epoch  of  Ezekiel)  and 
shice  the  siege  of  Jerusalem  closed  in  the  eleventh  year  and  fourth 
month  of  Zedekiah  (Jer.  52:  5,  6)  the  interval  between  the  destruc- 
tion of  Jerusalem  and  the  date  of  this  prophecy  is  fifteen  and  two- 
thirds  years.  If  we  may  assume  that  this  prophecy  (v.  17-21) 
bears  date  soon  after  this  "long  and  hard  service"  closed,  then  the 
famous  siege  of  Tyre  must  have  commenced  some  two  years  after 

the  cloye  of  the  siege  of  Jerusalem. The  grounds  assigned  for 

these  judgments  upon  Pharaoh  and  Egypt  are — (1.)  That  he  had 
been  very  proud,  had  practically  disowned  (^od,  and  put  himself 
in  his  place: — (2.)  That  he  and  his  people  had  been  a  frail,  treach- 
erous staff  of  help  to  the  Jews — enticinii;  them  away  from  their 
sworn  allegiance  to  the  Chaldeans,  to  their  own  ruin;  and  (3.)  To 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXIX.  163 

reward  Nebuchadnezzar  for  his  unpaid  service  for  the  Lord  against 
Tyre. 

1.  In  the  tenth  year,  in  the  tenth  months  in  the  twelfth 
day  of  the  month,  the  word  of  the  Lord  came  unto  me, 
saying, 

2.  Son  of  man,  set  thy  face  against  Pharaoh  king  of 
Egypt,  and  prophesy  against  him,  and  against  all  Egypt: 

3.  Speak,  and  say.  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God;  Behold,  I 
am  against  thee,  Pharaoh  king  of  Egypt,  the  great  dragon 
that  lieth  in  the  midst  of  his  rivers,  which  hath  said.  My 
river  is  mine  own,  and  I  have  made  it  for  myself. 

The  "great  dragon"  is  the  crocodile — almost  a  speciahty  to  the 
Nile.  But  the  crocodile  of  course  represents  here  Egypt's  proud 
king  who  lies  basking  in  the  midst  of  his  rivers,  as  this  animal  is 

wont  to  do. It  scarcely  needs   be   said    that  the    Nile    makes 

Egypt — is  the  source  of  all  its  fertility ;  the  channel  for  all  its  com- 
merce; the  fountain  of  all  its  wealth  and  subsistence.  Without 
the  Nile  Egypt  were  only  a  desert.  Its  waters  by  their  annual  in- 
undation and  by  their  abundant  use  in  artificial  irrigation,  beat 
back  the  encroaching  sands  of  the  desert  and  insure  astonishing 
fertility.  Hence  the  temptation  to  Egypt's  king  to  glory  in  the 
Nile,  and,  in  the  folly  of  his  pride,  to  claim  it  as  his  own,  even  by 

creation !     Strange  folly,   and  no  less  strange   impiety ! By   a 

striking  coincidence  Herodotus  wrote  of  this  same  Pharaoh  Hophra 
(Smith  2;  818)  "It  is  said  that  Apries,"  [another  form  of  "Hoph- 
ra,"] "believed  that  there  was  not  a  god  who  could  cast  him  down 
from  his  eminence,  so  firmly  did  he  think  he  bad  established  him- 
self in  his  kingdom." 

4.  But  I  will  put  hooks  in  thy  jaws,  and  I  will  cause  the 
fish  of  thy  rivers  to  stick  unto  thy  scales ;  and  I  will  bring 
thee  up  out  of  the  midst  of  thy  rivers,  and  all  the  fish  of 
thy  rivers  shall  stick  unto  thy  scales. 

5.  And  I  will  leave  thee  throiun  into  the  Avilderness,  thea 
and  all  the  fish  of  thy  rivers :  thou  shalt  fall  upon  the  open 
fields ;  thou  shalt  not  be  brought  together,  nor  gathered :  I 
have  given  thee  for  meat  to  the  beasts  of  the  field  and  to 
the  fowls  of  the  heaven. 

Crocodiles  were  customarily  caught  with  strong  fish-hooks,  which 
being  skilfully  baited,-the  animal  swallowed.  The  Lord  takes  this 
figure  from  actual  life  to  indicate  how  he  will  seize  this  proud  king 
and  drag  him  and  his  princes  and  the  chief  of  his  people  who  are 
to  stick  to  his  scales,  out  of  his  river ;  cast  them  abroad  upon 
the  dry  desert  where  no  fish  could  live;  and  there  leave  them  for 
food  to  beasts  and  fowls.  This  must  signify  that  they  are  subdued 
by  their   enemies,   taken  captive  and   brought  to    a   dishonored 


164  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXIX. 

death.  To  be  left  unburicd  to  be  devoured  by  vultures  and  hyenas 
fills  the  oriental  and  ancient  idea  of  w^hatever  is  awful  and  hor- 
rible in  death.  The  classic  authors  of  Greece  and  Home  are  full 
of  this  sentiment. 

6.  And  all  the  inhabitants  of  Egypt  shall  know  that  I 
am  the  Lord,  because  they  have  been  a  staff  of  reed  to  the 
house  of  Israel. 

7.  When  they  took  hold  of  thee  by  thy  hand,  thou  didst 
break,  and  rend  all  their  shoulder:  and  when  they  leaned 
upon  thee,  thou  brakest,  and  madest  all  their  loins  to  be  at 
a  stand. 

"A  staff  of  reed" — a  symbol  of  what  is  slender  and  frail — for  a 
nation  to  lean  upon.  When  Judah  leaned  on  this  staff,  it  brake ; 
and  as  they  had  leaned  with  their  full  weight  upon  it,  failincr,  it 
rent  all  their  shoulder  and  made  all  their  loins  to  shake.  This 
seems  to  be  the  thought  in  the  last  verb,  rendered,  to  "be  at  a 
stand."* 

8.  Therefore  thus  saith  the  Lord  God;  Behold,  I  will 
bring  a  sword  upon  thee,  and  cut  off  man  and  beast  out  of 
thee. 

9.  And  the  land  of  Egypt  shall  be  desolate  and  waste; 
and  they  shall  know  that  I  am  the  Lord:  because  he  hath 
said.  The  river  is  mine,  and  I  have  made  it. 

Of  the  visible  grounds  for  these  fearful  judgments,  pride  was 
manifestly  the  chief;  here  adduced  as  the  only  ground ;  "  Because 

he  hath  said.  The  river  is  mine,  and  I  have  made  it." How 

odious  to  the  Great  God  must  such  pride  be,  and  how  justly  does 
it  evoke  judgments  such  in  form  and  in  severity  as  shall  make  men, 
even  the  proudest  of  them,  Jcnoio  that  he  is  God  alone ! 

10.  Behold,  therefore  I  am  against  thee,  and  against  thy 
rivers,  and  I  will  make  the  land  of  Egypt  utterly  waste 
ajid  desolate,  from  the  tower  of  Syene  even  unto  the  border 
of  Ethiopia. 

11.  No  foot  of  man  shall  pass  through  it,  nor  foot  of 
beast  shall  pass  through  it,  neither  shall  it  be  inhabited 
forty  years. 

12.  And  I  will  make  the  land  of  Egypt  desolate  in  the 
midst  of  the  countries  that  are  desolate,  and  her  cities  among 
the  cities  that  are  laid  waste  shall  be  desolate  forty  years : 

*Tho  case  has  its  critical  clifficultios;  but  the  usual  sense,  to  cau.9e  to 
stand  firmly,  is  the  rever.se  of  what  the  context  requires.  Hence  there  is 
probably  ii  play  upon  the  Avoid  wltli  rofenMico  to  another  verb  of  tho 
Kaiue  radical  letters  h\\^  tho  two  first  traiis])osed.  This  other  verb  haa 
tho  sense,  to  shake.    The  change  is  from  -\'QV  ^o  stand— to  ^ya  to  shake. 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXIX.  165 

and  I  will  scatter  the  Egyptians  among  the  nations,  and 
will  disperse  them  through  the  countries. 

Sjene  is  not  (as  the  reader  might  suppose)  at  one  extremity  of 
Egypt  and  "the  border  of  Ethiopia"  at  the  other  and  opposite;  but 
both  are  on  its  southern  limit.  Syene  is  on  the  Nile,  on  the  south- 
ern boundary  of  Egypt.  The  original  reads,  "From  the  tower  of 
Syene,  and  unto  the  border  of  Ethiopia."  The  enemy  came  from 
the  north.  Of  course  the  northern  portion  of  the  country  would  be 
laid  waste.  It  was  only  needful  therefore  to  say  that  it  should  be 
desolated  even  to  its  southern  border ;  and  to  make  this  border  very 
definite,  two  points  in  it  are  specified.     The  description  shows  that 

this  desolation  was  to  be  fearful  and  general. There  can  be  no 

reasonable  doubt  that  it  was  efiected  by  the  Chaldean  forces  under 
Nebuchadnezzar.     See  vs.  17-20,  and  chap.  30:  24,  25,  and  also 

Jer.  44:  30,  and  46:  25,  26. Only  the  most  scanty  notices  of 

these  events  have  reached  us  in  the  channels  of  profane  history. 
Berosus,  the  great  Chaldean  historian,  has  a  fragment  which  has 
come  down  through  Josephus  (Against  Apion  1  :  19)  to  the  effect 
that  "Nebuchadnezzar  conquered  Egypt,  Syria,  Phenicia,  and 
Arabia,  and  exceeded  in  his  exploits  all  that  had  reigned  before 

him  in  Babylon  and  Chaldea." The  duration  of  this  desolate 

condition  ("  forty  years")  would  reach  forward  into  the  wane  of  the 
Chaldean  empire,  some  years  later  than  the  death  of  Nebuchad- 
nezzar, whose  reign  began  with  the  fourth  year  of  Jehoiakim  and 
continued  forty-three  years.  But  this  subjugation  of  Egypt  if  it 
followed  the  fall  of  Tyre,  must  have  been  past  the  middle  point  of 
his  reign. 

13.  Yet  thus  saith  the  Lord  God;  At  the  end  of  forty 
years  will  I  gather  the  Egyptians  from  the  people  whither 
they  were  scattered: 

14.  And  I  will  bring  again  the  captivity  of  Egypt,  and 
will  cause  them  to  return  into  the  land  of  Pathros,  into 
the  land  of  their  habitation;  and  they  shall  be  there  a 
base  kingdom. 

15.  It  shall  be  the  basest  of  the  kingdoms;  neither  shall 
it  exalt  itself  any  more  above  the  nations  :  for  I  will  di- 
minish them,  that  they  shall  no  more  rule  over  the  nations. 

16.  And  it  shall  be  no  more  the  confidence  of  the  house 
of  Israel,  which  bringeth  their  iniquity  to  remembrance, 
when  they  shall  look  after  them :  but  they  shall  know  that 
I  am  the  Lord  God. 

At  the  end  of  forty  years,  her  captivity  would  cease,  and  her 
population  return;  but  her  former  glory  she  should  never  regain. 

A  just  doom  for  her  impiety  and  pride ! "  The  land  of  their 

habitation"  is  rather  (from  the  original),  "the  land  of  their  nativ- 
ity;" the  same  word  used  Chap.  16:  3. V.  16  might  be  para- 


166  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXIX. 

phrased,  Egypt  shall  be  no  more  the  confidence  of  the  house 
of  Israel  which  confidence  brings  to  mind  their  iniquity  in  their 
treachery   and   perjury  toward   the   king  of  Ba))ylon  when  they 

turned  from  him  to  the  Egyptians*  for  help,  etc. What  is  said 

here  of  the  "baseness  of  this  kingdom"  as  contrasted  with  its  for- 
mer greatness  and  glory,  and  also  in  chap.  30:  13;  "there  shall 
be  no  more  a  prince  of  the  land  of  Egypt;"  has  its  fulfillment  in 
history  in  the  fact  that  "  from  the  second  Persian  conquest,  more 
than  two  thousand  years  ago,  until  our  own  days,  not  one  native 
ruler  has  occupied  the  throne."  See  Smith's  Bible  Dictionary  1 : 
512.  When  the  prophet  wrote,  Egypt  had  been  a  first-class  power 
from  the  days  of  Abraham.  Since  the  fulfillment  of  this  prophecy 
it  has  been  preeminently  "a  base  kingdom" — for  long  ages  past, 
scarcely  knoAvn  in  the  world's  history  as  a  kingdom  at  all.  What 
a  testimony  is  this,  not  to  the  truth  of  prophecy  alone,  but  to  the 
fearfulness  of  God's  judgments  against  kings  and  nations  for  their 
proud  impiety  in  disowning  their  great  Creator  and  Eang ! 

17.  And  it  came  to  pass  in  the  seven  and  twentieth  year, 
in  the  first  month,  in  the  first  day  of  the  month,  the  word 
of  the  Lord  came  unto  me,  saying, 

18.  Son  of  man,  Nebuchadrezzar  king  of  Babylon  caused 
his  army  to  serve  a  great  service  against  Tyrus :  every  head 
was  made  bald,  and  every  shoulder  loas  peeled :  yet  had  he 
no  wages,  nor  his  army,  for  Tyrus,  for  the  service  that  he 
had  served  against  it: 

19.  Therefore  thus  saith  the  Lord  God;  Behold,  I  will 
give  the  land  of  Egypt  unto  Nebuchadrezzar  king  of  Baby- 
lon; and  he  shall  take  her  multitude,  and  take  her  spoil, 
and  take  her  prey ;  and  it  shall  be  the  wages  for  his  army. 

20.  I  have  given  him  the  land  of  Egypt  for  his  labor 
wherewith  he  served  against  it,  because  they  wrought  for 
me,  saith  the  Lord  God. 

The  points  made  here  have  been  mostly  discussed  in  the  notes 
on  the  prophecies  against  Tyre,  and  in  the  remarks  introductory 

to  this  chapter. It  is  still  an  unsettled  question  whether  the 

siege  of  Tyre  closed  with  its  absolute  subjugation;  or  by  a  capit- 
ulation which  spared  to  the  people  their  treasures ;  or  by  their 
removing  all  their  valuables  in  their  ships.  The  latter  is  not  im- 
probable, and  has  in  its  support  the  testimony  (such  as  it  is)  of 

Jerome  in  his  commentary  on  Ezekiel. The  "hard  service"  in 

which  "every  head  was  made  bald  and  every  shoulder  peeled,"  is 
accounted  for  by  the  manner  in  which  the  work  was  done;  viz.,  by 
building  an  immense  causeway  or  road  from  the  main  land  to  the 
island  on  which  the  city  stood  in  order  to  bring  his  battering 
rams  and  assaulting  works  close  to  the  city  walls.  In  the  state  of 
the  arts  at  that  time,  the  transportation  of  stone  and  earth  for 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXX.  167 

building  this  causeway  was  done  on  the  heads  and  shoulders  of 
men — reason  enough  why  "every  head  should  be  made  bald"  and 

the  skin  of  "every  shoulder  be  peeled"  and  worn. Kemarkably 

the  Lord  speaks  of  this  service  as  being  done  for  himself — quite  in 
keeping  with  those  passages  in  which  he  calls  Nebuchadnezzar 
"my  servant:"  see  Jer.  25:  9,  and  27:  6,  and  43:  10.  The  Lord 
wished  the  Jews  to  understand  that  he  had  important  ends  to  an- 
swer by  this  great  king  of  Babylon,  as  was  indeed  the  case.  He 
was  God's  instrument  for  a  fearful  retribution,  not  on  Judea  and 
Jerusalem  alone,  but  on  all  the  nations  of  Western  Asia  and  upon 
Egypt. 

21.  In  that  day  will  I  cause  the  horn  of  the  house  of 
Israel  to  bud  forth,  and  I  will  give  thee  the  opening  of 
the  mouth  in  the  midst  of  them ;  and  they  shall  know  that 
I  am  the  Lord. 

"Horn"  and  "bud"  blend  two  distinct  and  not  altogether  homo- 
geneous figures.  The  "horn"  is  eminently  a  symbol  of  power; 
while  the  "budding"  and  development  of  vegetables  implies  growth 
and  beauty.  The  hopes  of  Israel  would  revive,  the  germ  of  its 
nationality  would  shoot  forth  afresh  at  the  period  here  referred  to, 
which  would  be  in  the  latter  years  of  the  captivity  in  Babylon.  As 
Egypt  should  go  down,  Israel  should  rise.  The  results  of  divine 
discipline  would  begin  to  develop  themselves  in  the  revived  piety 
of  the  people,  and  (we  must  suppose)  in  the  disappearance  of  the 
spirit  and  practice  of  idolatry.  The  passage  seems  to  refer  prima- 
rily to  a  period  within  the  lifetime  of  the  prophet,  since  it  is  implied 
that  he  would  be  encouraged  and  emboldened  to  speak  without 
restraint  and  with  great  freedom  and,  we  may  hope,  unction  and 
success.  The  captive  Jews  would  see  fresh  and  convincing  evi- 
dence that  their  God  is  truly  the  Lord  Jehovah  of  Hosts. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 


In  this  chapter  the  one  theme  is  judgment  on  Egypt,  yet  there 
are  two  messages  of  diverse  date;  the  first  comprising  vs.  1-19; 
the  second,  vs.  20-26.  The  date  of  the  latter  is  given  definitely 
(in  V.  20) ;  probably  that  the  reader  might  locate  it  shortly  after  the 
defeat  of  Pharaoh  Hophra  when  he  approached  to  aid  his  Jewish 
friends  by  an  efibrt  to  raise  the  siege  of  their  city,  then  in  progress 
by  the  army  of  Nebuchadnezzar.  Critics  are  not  agreed  as  to  the 
date  of  the  first  portion,  some  connecting  it  in  time  with  the  message 
chap.  29:  1-16,  viz.,  in  the  tenth  year  and  tenth  month,  etc. ;  others 
connecting  it  with  the  message  chap..29:  17-21,  viz.,  in  the  twenty- 
seventh  year.  I  prefer  the  latter,  both  because  it  follows  directly 
with  no  notice  of  a  different  date,  and  yet  more  because  it  repre- 


168  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXX. 

sents  the  final  consummation  of  these  fearful  judgments  as  then 
very  near  at  hand  (v.  3).  The  historical  facts  are,  that  the  crush- 
ino;  blow  from  the  Chaldean  arms  fell  on  Egypt  after  the  siege  of 
Tyre  had  closed,  and  hence  shortly  after  the  prophecy  (chap.  29 : 
17-21)  was  delivered.  Consequently  this  portion  (chap.  30:  1-19) 
must  be  assigned  to  the  same  date  as  the  five  verses  next  preceding. 

1.  The  word  of  the  Lord  came  again  unto  me,  saying, 

2.  Son  of  man,  prophesy  and  say,  Thus  saith  the  Lord 
God ;  Howl  ye.  Wo  worth  the  day ! 

3.  For  the  day  is  near,  even  the  day  of  the  Lord  is  near, 
a  cloudy  day ;  it  shall  be  the  time  of  the  heathen. 

The  passage  in  v.  2,  "Howl  ye,"  etc.,  means,  Cry  aloud  in  wail- 
ing tones,  "Wo  to  the  day!"  or  "Alas,  the  day!"  The  former  is 
the  literal  translation. "A  cloudy  day."  Darkness  is  a  well- 
known  symbol  of  calamity. "The  time  of  the  heathen,"  in  the 

sense  of  being  their  day  of  triumph.  The  nations  hostile  to  Egypt 
have  their  time  of  vengeance  upon  her. 

4.  The  sword  shall  come  upon  Egypt,  and  great  pain  shall 
be  in  Ethiopia,  when  the  slain  shall  fall  in  Egypt,  and  they 
shall  take  away  her  multitude,  and  her  foundations  shall  be 
broken  down. 

5.  Ethiopia,  and  Libya,  and  Lydia,  and  all  the  mingled 
people,  and  Chub,  and  the  men  of  the  land  that  is  in  league, 
shall  fall  with  them  by  the  sword. 

Not  Egypt  alone  but  her  allies,  those  powers  on  the  South  and 
West  that  had  been  usually  associated  with  her  in  her  great  con- 
flicts with  the  Asiatic  powers,  now  suffer  in  her  fall.  Ethiopia  on 
her  southern  border;   Libya  and  Lydia  on  her  western,  are  well 

known  as  her  ancient  allies. Doubt  rests  on  the  word  "Chub," 

which  occurs  in  the  Scriptures  here  only.  .Opinions  are  divided 
between  Cohen,  a  part  of  Ethiopia;  Coba  or  Chobat,  a  city  of  Mau- 
ritania; and  making  a  slight  change  in  the  first  letter  so  as  to  read 
it,  Nubia.  A  dearth  of  the  necessary  geographical  knowledge  for- 
bids absolute  certainty.  The  general  sense  is  clear;  some  city  or 
people  of  Africa,  in  alliance  with  Egypt. 

6.  Thus  saith  the  Lord ;  they  also  that  uphold  Egypt  shall 
fall ;  and  the  pride  of  her  power  shall  come  down :  from  the 
tower  of  Syene  shall  they  fall  in  it  by  the  sword,  saith  the 
Lord  God. 

7.  And  they  shall  be  desolate  in  the  midst  of  the  countries 
that  are  desolate,  and  her  cities  shall  be  in  the  midst  hi  the 
cities  that  are  wasted. 

8.  And  they  shall  know  that  I  am  the  Lord,  when  I  have 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXX.  169 

set  a  fire  in  Egypt,  and  when  all  her  helpers  shall  be  de- 
stroyed. 

Stress  is  laid  on  the  utter  ruin  of  her  helpers,  those  powerful 
alhes,  so  long  accustomed  to  make  common  cause  with  her  against 
their  great  and  common  enemies  from  the  regions  of  the  Euphrates. 

9.  In  that  day  shall  messengers  go  forth  from  me  in  ships 
to  make  the  careless  Ethiopians  afraid,  and  great  pain  shall 
come  upon  them  as  in  the  day  of  Egypt :  for  lo,  it  cometh. 

The  ships  referred  to  were  the  light-boats  that  ran  far  up  the 
Nile  to  bear  the  fearful  tidings  to  the  Ethiopians,  living  in  fancied 
security.  These  tidings  would  thrill  them  with  terror  even  as  they 
had  the  Egyptians  when  the  crash  of  invasion  fell  on  them. 

10.  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God;  I  will  also  make  the  mul- 
titude of  Egypt  to  cease  by  the  hand  of  Nebuchadrezzar 
king  of  Babylon. 

11.  He  and  his  people  with  him,  the  terrible  of  the  na- 
tions, shall  be  brought  to  destroy  the  land :  and  they  shall 
draw  their  swords  against  Egypt,  and  fill  the  land  with  the 
slain. 

12.  And  I  will  make  the  rivers  dry,  and  sell  the  land  into 
the  hand  of  the  wicked:  and  I  will  make  the  land  waste, 
and  all  that  is  therein,  by  the  hand  of  strangers  :  I  the  Lord 
have  spoken  it 

The  dense  population  of  Egypt  would  perish  by  the  hand  of  the 
king  of  Babylon.  "I  will  make  the  rivers  dry,"  is  taken  by  some 
figuratively  in  the  sense  of  destroying  her  resources,  which  her 
great  river  and  its  numerous  canals,  cut  for  irrigation,  might  well 
represent.  But  there  is  no  special  objection  to  taking  the  words  in 
their  literal  though  modified  sense — her  rivers  becoming  so  low  as 
to  forbid  irrigation,  and  consequently,  to  insure  famine.  The  Nile 
is  subject  to  such  failures,  as  e.  g.  in  the  days  of  Joseph. 

13.  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God;  I  will  also  destroy  the 
idols,  and  I  will  cause  ilieiv  images  to  cease  out  of  Noph ; 
and  there  shall  be  no  more  a  prince  of  the  land  of  Egypt : 
and  I  will  put  a  fear  in  the  land  of  Egypt. 

14.  And  I  will  make  Pathros  desolate,  and  will  set  fire 
in  Zoan,  and  will  execute  judgments  in  No. 

15.  And  I  will  pour  my  fury  upon  Sin,  the  strength  of 
Egypt ;  and  I  will  cut  off*  the  multitude  of  No. 

16.  And  I  will  set  fire  in  Egypt:  Sin  shall  have  great 
pain,  and  No  shall  be  rent  asunder,  and  Noph  shall  ham 
distresses  daily. 

8 


170  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXX. 

17.  The  young  men  of  Avon,  and  of  Pi-beseth  shall  fall 
by  the  sword :  and  these  cities  shall  go  into  captivity. 

From  general  statements,  the  prophet  comes  to  particulars,  speci- 
fying the  several  cities  that  are  to  feel  the  weight  of  this  crushing 
calamity.     This  is  designed  and  well  adapted   to   strengthen  the 

impression  of  the  fearful  facts. The  principal  cities   of  Egypt 

are  here  enumerated.  They  are  known  by  other  names  also — ■ 
Greek  or  Egyptian.  These  are  mostly  Hebrew.  Hence  the  follow- 
ing statements  may  be  useful. "Noph"  is  also  called  Memphis; 

the  great  city  of  Lower  Egypt,  near  the  Pyramids.  "No,"  or  No- 
Ammon,  is  Thebes  or  Diospolis;  the  great  city  of  Upper  Egypt,  cel- 
ebrated for  its  hundred  gates,  and  even  now  great  in  the  ruins  of 
its  magnificent  temples  of  Luxor,  Karnac,  etc.  "Pathros"  is  the 
Egyptian  name  for  Upper  Egypt,  as  Mizraim  was  sometimes  for 
the  lower  province.  "Zoan"  is  known  in  Greek  as  Tanis,  one  of 
the  cities  of  Lower  Egypt.  "  Sin,"  known  by  the  Greeks  as  Pelu- 
sium,  was  in  the  north-eastern  extremity  of  Egypt,  the  point  where 
their  Asiatic  enemies  would  naturally  strike  first.  Hence  it  was 
fortified  so  as  to  become  "the  strength  of  Egypt."  Its  Hebrew  name 
means  a  marsh,  and  such  it  was,  and  perhaps  the  stronger  therefor. 
"Aven,"  doubtless  the  city  "On"  of  Gen.  41:  45,  50,  from  vrhich 
word  it  differs  only  in  its  vowel  points,  received  this  form  from  the 
Hebrews  in  contempt  for  its  idols,  nothings,  or  vanities — which  is 
the  significance  of  the  word  thus  pronounced.  The  Greeks  called 
it  Heliopolis,  city  of  the  sun,  which  the  Hebrews  sometimes  trans- 
lated into  Bethshemeth,  house  of  the  sun.  "Pi-beseth,"  by  the 
Greeks,  Bubastis,  was  on  the  lower  Avaters  of  the  Nile.  Tehaphne- 
hes,  the  Daphne  of  the  Greeks,  was  near  Pelusium,  and  seems  to 
have  been  in  these  times  the  residence  of  the  king  and  his  court. 
See  Jer.  43 :  8-13. Jeremiah  has  a  prophecy  (chap.  46)  some- 
what analogous  to  this  of  Ezekiel. For  the  fulfillment  of  this 

prophecy,  "  there  shall  be  no  more  a  prince  of  the  land  of  Egypt," 

see  notes    on  chap.  29:   14,  15. In  v.   16,  the  doom  of  Noph 

means,  "distress  by  day,"  as  opposed  to  the  night.  Her  enemies 
shall  come  upon  her  fearlessly  in  open  day  as  if  perfect  masters  of 
their  position.  Even  the  proudest  cities  and  the  strongest  shall  be 
readily  subdued  with  no  aid  from  darkness  or  surprise. 

18.  At  Tehaphnehes  also  the  day  shall  be  darkened, 
when  I  shall  break  there  the  yokes  of  Egypt:  and  the 
pomp  of  her  strength  shall  cease  in  her:  as  for  her,  a  cloud 
shall  cover  her,  and  her  daughters  shall  go  into  captivity. 

19.  Thus  will  I  execute  judgments  in  Egypt:  and  they 
shall  know  that  I  am  the  Lord. 

The  eclipse  of  Egypt's  glory  is  well  represented  as  falling  on  the 
royal  city.  The  darkening  ot^  the  day  and  a  covering  of  cloud  are 
analogous  figures  for  extreme  calamity.  The  "pomp  of  Egypt's 
strength"  would  naturally  be  concentrated  about  the  throne. 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXX.  171 

The  "yokes  of  Egypt,"  if  the  Hebrew  word  for  yoke  is  to  be  re- 
tained, must  mean  her  power  to  enslave  her  captives,  or  to  hold  in 
subjection  foreign  tribes  or  peoples.  But  the  context  strongly  favors 
a  slight  change  in  the  vowels  which  would  make  the  word  mean 
rods^  or  scepters.  In  this  way  the  sense  of  the  clause  would  be,  the 
breaking  down  of  regal  power  in  the  land.  Remarkably  the  an- 
cient versions  give  this  sense. 

20.  And  it  came  to  pass  in  the  eleventh  year,  in  the 
first  month,  in  the  seventh  day  of  the  month,  that  the  word 
of  the  Lord  came  unto  me,  saying, 

21.  Son  of  man,  I  have  broken  the  arm  of  Pharaoh  king 
of  Egypt;  and,  lo,  it  shall  not  be  bound  up  to  be  healed, 
to  put  a  roller  to  bind  it,  to  make  it  strong  to  hold  the 
sword. 

22.  Therefore  thus  saith  the  Lord  God;  Behold,  I  am 
against  Pharaoh  king  of  Egypt,  and  will  break  his  arms, 
the  strong,  and  that  which  was  broken;  and  I  will  cause 
the  sword  to  fall  out  of  his  hand. 

23.  And  I  will  scatter  the  Egyptians  among  the  nations, 
and  will  disperse  them  through  the  countries. 

24.  And  I  will  strengthen  the  arms  of  the  king  of  Bab- 
ylon, and  put  my  sword  in  his  hand:  but  I  will  break 
Pharaoh's  arms,  and  he  shall  groan  before  him  with  the 
groanings  of  a  deadly  wounded  man. 

25.  But  I  w^ill  strengthen  the  arms  of  the  king  of  Baby- 
lon, and  the  arms  of  Pharaoh  shall  fall  down;  and  they 
shall  know  that  I  am  the  Lord,  when  I  shall  put  my  sword 
into  the  hand  of  the  king  of  Babylon,  and  he  shall  stretch 
it  out  upon  the  land  of  Egypt. 

26.  And  I  will  scatter  the  Egyptians  among  the  nations, 
and  disperse  them  among  the  countries;  and  they  shall 
know  that  I  am  the  Lord. 

As  said  above  in  the  introduction  to  this  chapter,  this  prophecy 
was  probably  suggested  by  the  defeat  of  Pharaoh  Hophra  when  he 
attempted  to  force  Nebuchadnezzar  to  raise  the  siege  of  Jerusalem. 
See  Jer.  44:  30:  "I  will  give  Pharaoh  Hophra  king  of  Egypt  into 
the  hands  of  his  enemies  and  into  the  hands  of  them  that  seek  his 
life,  as  I  gave  Zedekiah  into  the  hands  of  Nebuchadnezzar,"  etc. 
Suggested  by  this  defeat,  it  probably  followed  it  closely  in  time. 
This  was  only  some  three  months  before  the  fall  of  the  city  of  Jeru- 
salem— the  latter  event  being  in  the  eleventh  year  and  fourth  month 
and  ninth  day  (Jer.  52:  5,  6),  and  this,  in  the  eleventh  year,  first 

month  and  seventh  day. The  breaking  of  Pharaoh's  sword-arm 

first,  hopelessly  past  cure ;  then  the  breaking  of  both  his  arms,  and 
the  strengthening  of  the  arms  of  Nebuchadnezzar  and  putting  the 


172  EZEKIEL— CHAP.  XXXL 

eword  into  it  for  the  execution  of  God"^  judgments — are  the  leading 

figures  of  this  passage. Some  critics  interpret  the  two  arms  of 

Egypt's  king  to  be  two  portions  of  his  territory;  others,  two  royal 
families :  but  the  general  sense,  his  military  power,  his  means  of 
resisting  his  great  Chaldean  enemy — is  more  natural  and  probable. 

The   sword   is  the   appropriate   emblem  of  military   strength. 

Here,  as  often  elsewhere,  we  have  the  king  of  Babylon  "  the  serv- 
ant of  the  Lord."  The  curse  of  Egypt  includes  a  great  slaughter 
of  her  people  and  their  dispersion  into  foreign  lands. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 


This  chapter  is  one  distinct  and  entire  message,  presenting  under 
the  figure  of  a  cedar  of  Lebanon  the  case  of  Assyria,  as  a  lesson 
of  warning  to  Egypt.  If  Assyria,  so  splendid  and  magnificent  in 
her  greatness,  yet  went  down  with  a  crash  that  astounded  the  na- 
tions, what,  0  Pharaoh,  shall  be  thy  doom  ?  Be  not  so  vain  as  to 
imagine  that  thy  greatness  and  glory,  so  obviously  less  than  those 
of  Assyria,  can  insure  thee  against  a  like  terrible  fall ! This  mes- 
sage dates  only  one  month  and  a  fraction  before  the  fall  of  Jeru- 
salem. The  fall  of  Assyria,  referred  to  here  as  a  fact  of  past  his- 
tory, occurred  B.  C.  625;  i.  e.,  thirty-seven  years  before  the  date  of 
this  message.     Hence  it  was  still  fresh  in  the  minds  of  Ezekiel's 

readers. The  figure  which   is    finely  sustained  throughout  the 

chapter  is  one  of  exquisite  beauty.  The  Assyrian  power  was  a 
noble  cedar  of  Lebanon,  lofty  and  fair,  of  far  outspreading  mag- 
nificent foliage;  his  roots  reaching  out  to  living  waters;  all  the 
fowls  of  heaven  nestled  in  his  boughs ;  all  the  beasts  of  the  field 
made  their  homes  under  his  shade; — but  he  became  proud,  and 
God  laid  him  low,  and  brought  him  down  to  the  under-world,  even 
as  mortals  die  and  go  down  to  the  shades  beneath.— — Art  thou,  O 
Egypt,  great  like  this  Assyrian  cedar  ?  If  in  thy  vanity  thou  hast 
compared  thyself  to  proud  Assyria,  think  whether   for  thy  pride 

thou  shalt  not  suffer  an  equally  terrible  fall! The  reader  will 

recall  the  similar  figure  (chap.  17)  wliere  the  king  of  Judah  ap 
pears  as  a  young  cedar ;  also  in  Dan.  4,  where  a  vast,  magnificent 
tree  represents  the  greatness  and  glory  of  Nebuchadnezzar.  The 
latter  case  suffices  to  show  that  this  figure  is  Chaldean,  and  hence 
entirely  appropriate  for  Ezekiel  to  use  in  addressing  his  brethren 
residing  there, 

1.  And  it  came  to  pass  in  the  eleventh  year,  in  the  third 
month,  in  the  first  day  of  the  month,  that  the  word  of  the 
Lord  came  unto  me,  saying, 

2.  Son  of  man,  speak  unto  Pharaoh  king  of  Egypt,  and 
to  his  multitude;  Whom  art  thou  like  in  thy  greatness? 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXXI.  173 

3.  Behold,  the  Assyrian  was  a  cedar  in  Lebanon  with  fair 
branches,  and  with  a  shadowing  shroud,  and  of  an  high 
stature;  and  his  top  was  among  the  thick  boughs. 

"  Whom  art  thou  Uke  in  thy  greatness  ?"  "  Behold ;"  look  at  this 
case  of  the  Assyrian  power,  well  known  to  Egypt;  for  ages  her 
great  rival  and  military  antagonist.     Is  thy  greatness  more  than 

hers  ? He  then  proceeds  to  set  forth  the  splendors  of  the  great 

Assyrian  empire. In  v.  3,  "with  a  shadowing  shroud,"  means 

with  foliage  casting  a  deep  shade.  In  the  clause,  "  his  top  among 
the  thick  boughs,"  the  word  for  top  means  the  woolly  iiift,  crown- 
ing the  summit  of  its  foliage.  Hengstenberg  claims  that  the  word 
rendered  ^^  thick  boughs"  means  ^^  the  clouds;"  his  tuft  lay  among 
the  clouds.  The  same  clause  occurs  elsewhere  only  in  vs.  10,  14, 
and  chap.  19:  11,  To  say  only  that  his  top  was  among  the  thick 
boughs  implies  equality  in  height  with  other  trees,  and  not  superi- 
ority, and  consequently  does  not  meet  the  demands  of  the  context. 
Hence,  "among  the  clouds,"  is  better. 

4.  The  waters  made  him  great,  the  deep  set  him  up  on 
high  with  her  rivers  running  round  about  his  plants,  and 
sent  out  her  little  rivers  unto  all  the  trees  of  the  field. 

5.  Therefore  his  height  was  exalted  above  all  the  trees 
of  the  field,  and  his  boughs  w^ere  multiplied,  and  his 
branches  became  long  because  of  the  multitude  of  waters, 
when  he  shot  forth. 

6.  All  the  fowls  of  heaven  made  their  nests  in  his  boughs, 
and  under  his  branches  did  all  the  beasts  of  the  field  bring 
forth  their  young,  and  under  his  shadow  dVelt  all  great 
nations. 

7.  Thus  was  he  fair  in  his  greatness,  in  the  length  of  his 
branches:  for  his  root  was  by  great  waters. 

A  supply  of  water  in  that  climate  insured  exuberant  fertility. 

In  a  few  instances  the  prophet  drops  his  figure  and  gives  his 

thought  in  literal  terms;  e.  g.,  "under  his  shadow  dwelt  all  great 
nations,"  i.  e.,  enjoying  his  military  protection  and  paying  him 
tribute.  This  was  the  relation  sustained  in  those  ages  by  the 
smaller  powers  to  the  great  central  one.  Assyria,  Clialdea,  and 
Persia,  were  successively  such  central  powers. 

8.  The  cedars  in  the  garden  of  God  could  not  hide  him: 
the  fir  trees  were  not  like  his  boughs,  and  the  chestnut 
trees  were  not  like  his  branches;  not  any  tree  in  the  gar- 
den of  God  was  like  unto  him  in  his  beauty. 

9.  I  have  made  him  fair  by  the  multitude  of  his  branches: 
so  that  all  the  trees  of  Eden,  that  ivere  in  the  garden  of 
God,  envied  him. 


174  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXXI. 

The  prophet  thinks  of  Eden,  the  o;arden  of  God,  as  a  model  of 
superlative  fertility  and  beauty.  This  and  similar  allusions  {e.  g., 
chap.  28:  13)  show  that  the  Jews  of  that  age  had  some  knowledge 
of  the  primeval  state  of  man,  doubtless  as  much  as  has  come  down 
to  us  in  the  account  given  by  Moses  in  Genesis.  It  is  safe  to  as- 
sume that  they  had  this. "  These  cedars  in  the  garden  of  God 

could  not  hide  him,"  in  the  sense  of  overshadowing  and  surpassing 
him  in  their  beauty  and  their  shade. "  Chestnut,"  Gesenius  ren- 
ders— the  "  plane-tree." 

10.  Therefore  thus  saith  the  Lord  God;  Because  thou 
hast  lifted  up  thyself  in  height,  and  he  hath  shot  up  his  top 
among  the  thick  boughs,  and  his  heart  is  lifted  up  in  his 
height ; 

11.  I  have  therefore  delivered  him  into  the  hand  of  the 
mighty  one  of  the  heathen ;  he  shall  surely  deal  with  him : 
I  have  driven  him  out  for  his  wickedness. 

12.  And  strangers,  the  terrible  of  the  nations,  have  cut 
him  off,  and  have  left  him :  upon  the  mountains  and  in  all 
the  valleys  his  branches  are  fallen,  and  his  boughs  are 
broken  by  all  the  rivers  of  the  land ;  and  all  the  people  of 
the  earth  are  gone  down  from  his  shadow,  and  have  left 
him. 

13.  Upon  his  ruin  shall  all  the  fowls  of  the  heaven  re- 
main, and  all  the  beasts  of  the  field  shall  be  upon  his 
branches : 

14.  To  the  end  that  none  of  all  the  trees  by  the  waters 
exalt  themselves  for  their  height,  neither  shoot  up  their  top 
among  the  thick  boughs,  neither  their  trees  stand  up  in  their 
height,  all  that  drink  Avater :  for  they  are  all  delivered  unto 
death,  to  the  nether  parts  of  the  earth,  in  the  midst  of  the 
children  of  men,  with  them  that  go  down  to  the  pit. 

Here  again  the  prophet  blends  literal  with  figurative  language ; 
e.  g.^  "his  heart  is  lifted  up  in  his  height,"  v.  10;  also  in  v.  11,  and 
part  of  v.  12.  The  change  of  person  from  "thou"  to  "he"  is  not 
uncommon  in  Hebrew  and  does  not  necessarily  involve  any  change 

in  the  personage  whose  pride  is  here  described. This  terrible 

example  of  ruin  had  for  its  moral  purpose  to  admonish  all  other 
great  trees  of  like  magnificence  tliat  they  be  not  proud  and  vain, 
for  they  are  all  doomed  to  die.  The  greatest  and  proudest  nations 
must  go  down,  like  frail  mortal  men,  to  the  under-world,  the  pit. 
The  phrase,  "the  nether  parts  of  the  earth,"  is  more  strictly,  the 
"  under- world,"  according  to  the  opinions  of  the  ancients  that  this 
was  the  locality  of  the  dead. 

15.  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God ;  In  the  day  when  he  -went 
down  to  the  grave  I  caused  a  mourning,  I  covered  the  deep 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXXI.  175 

for  him,  and  I  restrained  the  floods  thereof,  and  the  great 
waters  were  stayed:  and  I  caused  Lebanon  to  mourn  for 
hifla,  and  all  the  trees  of  the  field  fainted  for  him. 

This  is  graphic  and  beautiful.  In  the  day  when  this  proud 
cedar  fell,  I  the  Lord  shrouded  the  deep  in  mourning  for  him  (the 
deep  with  its  great  waters  had  set  him  up  on  high,  v.  4),  and  I  re- 
strained its  waters,  and  made  Lebanon  mourn  over  the  loss  of  her 

preeminent  glory. The  trees  of  the  field  were  languid,  faint  of 

heart,  in  view  of  his  fall,  thinking  of  their  own  possible,  perhaps 
probable,  doom! 

16.  I  made  the  nations  to  shake  at  the  sound  of  his  fall, 
when  I  cast  him  down  to  hell  with  them  that  descend  into 
the  pit :  and  all  the  trees  of  Eden,  the  choice  and  best  of 
Lebanon,  all  that  drink  water,  shall  be  comforted  in  the 
nether  parts  of  the  earth. 

17.  They  also  went  down  into  hell  with  him  unto  them 
that  be  slain  with  the  sword ;  and  they  that  were  his  arm,  that 
dwelt  under  his  shadow  in  the  midst  of  the  heathen. 

The  trees  of  Eden  are  "  comforted,"  probably  in  the  sense  of  a 
satisfaction  to  their  envious  feelings  (v.  9);  a  sort  of  revenge  upon 
him  for  his  great  pride,  like  the  feeling  which  Isaiah  (14:  9-16) 
imputes  to  the  kings  of  the  nations  in  the  under-world  when  they 
see   great  Lucifer  coming  down  to  their   land   of  weakness  and 

shade;  "Art  thou  become  weak  as  we?" In  v,  17,  "they  that 

were  his  arm,"  his  military  strength — allied  or  tributary  nations, 
who  had  dwelt  under  his  shadow — now  go  down  with  him  to  the  pit 
of  destruction. 

18.  To  whom  art  thou  thus  like  in  glory  and  in  greatness 
among  the  trees  of  Eden  ?  yet  shalt  thou  be  brought  down 
with  the  trees  of  Eden  unto  the  nether  parts  (f£  the  earth: 
thou  shalt  lie  in  the  midst  of  the  uncircumcised  with  them 
that  be  slain  by  the  sword.  This  is  Pharaoh  and  all  his 
multitude,  saith  the  Lord  God. 

In  this  question — "To'  whom  art  thoji  thus  like,"  etc.,  I  under- 
stand the  prophet  to  turn  from  the  Assyrian  cedar  to  bis  Egyptian 
rival.  Art  thou  as  great  as  this  proud  Assyrian,  or  greater?  Know 
thou  that  if  thy  pride  is  great  like  his,  thy  doom  must  needs  be  fear- 
fully appalling  no  less  than  his.  The  mighty  God  before  whom 
great  Assyria  could  not  stand  is  equally  able  to  bring  do"svn  thy 
greatness,  paralyze  thy  power,  and  cast  thoe  into  tliat  under-world 

where  the  silence  of  death  reigns  supreme ! >^o  puny  are  the 

mightiest  nations  when  they  measure  arms  with  the  (ireat  God! 
So  vain  it  is  for  any  of  them,  even  the  most  magnificent  in  splen- 
dor, to  lift  themselves  up  against  their  Infinite  Maker  and  Lord  1 


176  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXXII. 


OHAPTER  XXXII. 

This  chapter  in  hro  distinct  messages,  viz.,  vs.  1-16  and  vs.  17- 
32,  with  each  its  distinct  date,  completes  the  prophecy  concerning 
the  fall  of  Egypt  before  the  arms  of  Nebuchadnezzar.  The  date 
of  the  first  portion  is  seven  months  and  a  fraction  after  the  fall  of 
Jerusalem;  the  second  portion  is  still  fifteen  days  later;  for  the 
month  not  being  mentioned,  we  must  assume  it  to  be  the  same  as 
in  V.  1. The  danger  to  Egyj^t  from  the  Chaldean  arms  was  man- 
ifestly greater  and  more  obvious  after  the  fall  of  Jerusalem  than 
at  any  time  before.  Whether  the  Chaldeans  invaded  Egypt  near 
this  time  and  before  their  long  siege  of  Tyre,  remains  in  some 
doubt.  Profane  history  at  this  period  affords  only  the  most  scanty 
records.  That  they  swept  over  Egypt  with  terrible  devastation 
after  their  work  on  Tyre  was  finished,  admits  of  no  doubt.  It  is 
not  improl)able  that  they  made  a  raid  upon  their  old  enemy  before 
they  invested  Tyre. 

1.  And  it  came  to  pass  in  the  twelfth  year,  in  the  twelfth 
month,  in  the  first  day  of  the  month,  that  the  word  of  the 
Lord  came  unto  me,  saying, 

2.  Son  of  man,  take  up  a  lamentation  for  Pharaoh  king 
of  Egyj^t,  and  say  unto  him.  Thou  art  like  a  young  lion 
of  the  nations,  and  thou  art  as  a  w^hale  in  the  seas;  and 
thou  earnest  forth  with  thy  rivers,  and  troubledst  the 
waters  with  thy  feet,  and  fouledst  their  rivers. 

"Take  up  a  lamentation" — ^prepare  a  mourning  elegy  which 
may  be  sung  as  a  dirge  over  his  fall.  It  was  appropriate  in  such 
a  dirge  to  celebrate  the  valor  and  recount  the  great  deeds  of  the 
dead.  In  the  present  case  the  prophet  is  not  excessively  eulogistic. 
God  loves  truth. Kings  often  compare  themselves  and  are  com- 
pared to  a  lioti — first  in  power  and  terror  among  the  beasts  of  the 
wilderness.  Solomon  says,  "  The  king's  wrath  is  as  the  roaring 
of  a  lion  (Prov.  19 :  12).     Isaiah  has  the  same  figure  (chap.  5 :  29, 

30). A  second  figure  makes  him  "  a  whale  in  the  sea, '  as  our 

translators  have  it;  but  they  have  rendered  the  same  Hebrew  Avord 
(chap.  29:   3)  "the  great  tj^-agon."     In  both  cases,  we  must  think 

of  the  crocodile — the  speciality  of  the  Nile. "Thou  earnest  forth," 

has  the  strong  sense,  thou  didst  rush  forth  as  an  armed  host  to  the 
battle,  breaking  out  from  thy  rivers.  Pharaoh  and  his  multitude 
are  thought  of  asfoxdiyig  the  Nile  and  its  disparted  mouths  and  nu- 
merous canals  with  their  feet — perhaps  in  the  sense  of  abusing  the 
blessings  God  had  given  them  in  that  noble  river. 

3.  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God ;  I  will  therefore  spread  out 
my  net  over  thee  with  a  company  of  many  people;  and 
they  shall  bring  thee  up  in  my  net. 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXXII.  177 

4.  Then  will  I  leave  tliee  upon  tlie  land,  I  will  cast  thee 
forth  upon  the  open  field,  and  will  cause  all  the  fowls  of 
the  heaven  to  remain  upon  thee,  and  I  will  fill  the  beasts 
of  the  whole  earth  with  thee. 

5.  And  I  will  lay  thy  flesh  upon  the  mountains,  and  fill 
the  valleys  with  thy  height: 

6.  I  will  also  water  with  thy  blood  the  land  wherein 
thou  swimmest,  even  to  the  mountains ;  and  the  rivers 
shall  be  full  of  thee. 

Consequently,  with  the  aid  of  many  people  (the  Chaldeans),  the 
Lord  will  take  up  this  monster  crocodile,  Pharaoh,  in  his  net,  and 
leave  him  cast  out  upon  the  land  in  the  open  field,  meat  for  fowls 

and  beasts. ''Fill  the  valley  with  thy  height^'  is  rather,  with  the 

heaps  of  thy  dead,  for  the  doom  of  Pharaoh  involves  the  destruction 
of  his  people.  Gesenius  and  Maurer  suggest  a  slight  change  in 
the  vowels  by  which  the  word  would  mean,  worms  that  would  feed 

on  the  carcasses  of  the  slain  Egyptians. "  The  land  wherein 

thou  swimmest"  is  literally  the  land  of  thine  inundations — the 
region  inundated  by  the  Nile,  which  having  been  the  great  object 
of  their  pride  (see  chap.  29  :  3)  should  be  made  prominent  in  God's 
judgments.  Hence  the  Lord  said,  "I  will  make  this  whole  land 
even  to  the  mountain-tops  drink  thy  blood,"  and  the  river  of  which 
thou  hast  been  so  proud  shall  be  filled  with  it. 

7.  And  when  I  shall  put  thee  out,  I  will  cover  the  heaven, 
and  make  the  stars  thereof  dark  ;  I  will  cover  the  sun  with 
a  cloud,  and  the  moon  shall  not  give  her  light. 

8.  All  the  bright  lights  of  heaven  will  I  make  dark  over 
thee,  and  set  darkness  upon  thy  land,  saitli  the  Lord  God. 

The  figure  changes.  Calamity  is  here  represented  by  darkness, 
perhaps  with  a  tacit  reference  to  the  plague  of  darkness  (Ex.  10 : 
21-23).  "When  I  shall  put  them  out;"  meaning,  extinguish  them 
from  being  a  light  among  the  nations.  Cloud  and  eclipse  combine 
to  shut  off  the  lights  of  heaven  and  to  doom  the  land  to  thick  dark- 
ness. This  figure  appears  frequently  in  the  poetic  portions  of  the 
Bible,  sometimes  in  the  strong  form  of  '"  turning  the  sun  into  dark- 
ness and  the  moon  into  blood."  See  Isa.  13:  10,  and  Joel  2:  10, 
30,  31,  and  3:  15.  The  general  sense  is  the  same  throughout  all 
these  variations  of  the  figure,  viz.,  exceeding  great  calamity,  fearful 
ruin.  Light  is  a  natural  emblem. of  joy  and  prosperity;  darkness, 
of  whatever  is  fearful  and  appalling. 

9.  I  will  also  vex  the  hearts  of  many  people,  when  I  shall 
bring  thy  destruction  among  the  nations,  into  the  countries 
which  thou  hast  not  known. 

10.  Yea,  I  will  make  many  people  amazed  at  thee,  and 
their  kings  shall  be  horribly  afraid  for  thee,  wdien  I  shall 


178  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXXII. 

brandish  my  sword  before  them ;  and  they  shall  tremble  at 
every  moment,  every  man  for  his  own  life,  in  the  day  of  thy 
fall. 

This  is  the  effect  of  Pharaoh's  fall  upon  other  nations,  even  those 
whom  he  had  little  known,  lying  out  beyond  the  range  of  his  influ- 
ence.    This  reference  implies  that  the  fall  of  Egypt  would  impress 

the  fear  of  the  Chaldean  arms  upon  remote  nations. "  When  I 

shall  bring  thy  destruction  among  the  nations,"  i.  e.^  shall  cause  the 
report  of  it  to  go  forth  to  them.  They  shall  fear  exceedingly  for 
their  own  lives. 

11.  For  thus  saitli  the  Lord  God;  The  sword  of  the  king 
of  Babylon  shall  come  upon  thee. 

12.  By  the  swords  of  the  mighty  will  I  cause  thy  multi- 
tude to  fall,  the  terrible  of  the  nations,  all  of  them :  and 
they  shall  spoil  the  pomp  of  Egypt,  and  all  the  multitude 
thereof  shall  be  destroyed. 

The  prophecy  is  here  entirely  definite.  The  conquering,  wasting 
power  is  the  Chaldean.  They  shall  spoil  the  glory  of  Egypt,  waste 
her  treasures,  pillage  her  cities,  break  down  her  national  strength, 
and  lay  her  land  for  the  time  quite  desolate. 

13.  I  will  destroy  also  all  the  beasts  thereof  from  beside 
the  great  waters  ;  neither  shall  the  foot  of  man  trouble  them 
any  more,  nor  the  hoofs  of  beasts  trouble  them. 

14.  Then  will  I  make  their  waters  deej),  and  cause  their 
rivers  to  run  like  oil,  saith  the  Lord  God. 

15.  When  I  shall  make  the  land  of  Egypt  desolate,  and 
the  country  shall  be  destitute  of  that  whereof  it  was  full, 
when  I  shall  smite  all  them  that  dwell  therein,  then  shall 
they  know  that  I  am  the  Lord. 

The  cattle  for  which  Egypt  was  celebrated,  and  of  which  she 
thought  so  much  that  the  cow  was  the  highest  object  of  her  wor- 
ship, came  under  this  sweeping  curse.  We  shall  see  the  force  of 
the  language  if  we  consider  how  their  want  of  water  would  bring 
them  to  the  rivers  and  canals  to  drink,  and  how  they  would  poach 
the  banks  and  foul  the  waters  with  their  feet.  But  God  would  so 
completely  destroy  them  that  no  foot  of  beast  or  of  man  should  foul 
those  waters  any  more. "Then  will  I"  (v.  14)  make  their  wat- 
ers, not  "deep,  but  quiet^  causing  them  to  subside  and  lie  undis- 
turbed, so  that  they  would  run  freely  and  clear  as  oil. 

16.  This  is  the  lamentation  wherewith  they  shall  lament 
her ;  the  daughters  of  the  nations  shall  lament  her :  they 
shall  lament  for  her,  even  for  Egypt,  and  for  all  her  multi- 
tude, saith  the  Lord  God. 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXXII.  179 

"  The  daughters  of  th»  nations."  Women  in  oriental  life  were 
the  professional  mourners.     See  Jer.  9  :  17-21, 

17.  It  came  to  pass  also  in  the  twelfth  year,  in  the  fifteenth 
day  of  the  month,  that  the  word  of  the  Lord  came  unto  me, 
saying, 

18.  Son  of  man,  wail  for  the  multitude  of  Egypt,  and  cast 
them  down,  even  her,  and  the  daughters  of  the  famous  na- 
tions, unto  the  nether  parts  of  the  earth,  with  them  that  go 
down  into  the  pit. 

19.  Whom  dost  thou  pass  in  beauty?  go  down,  and  be 
thou  laid  with  the  uncircumcised. 

20.  They  shall  fall  in  the  midst  of  them  that  are  slain  by 
the  sword  :  she  is  delivered  to  the  sword  :  draw  her  and  all 
her  multitudes. 

This  entire  second  message  commencing  here  constitutes  another 

elegy  over  the  fall  of  Egypt. In  v.  18,  "  cast  them  do^vn,"  means 

— predict  their  fall ;  the  prophets  being  said  to  do  what  they  simply 
predict  as  to  be  done.  So  Jer.  1 :  10,  and  elsewhere. These  al- 
lusions to  the  under-world  as  in  chap.  26 :  20,  are  based  on  the 
popular  view  that  the  dead  go  at  death  to  subterranean  regions. 
Nations  are  thought  of  here  as  going  to  the  same  under- world  when 
they  fall.  David  thought  of  his  enemies  as  going  there  (Ps.  63 :  9), 
and  the  writer  of  Ps.  88 :  4-6,  seems  to  have  used  this  conception 
to  represent  an  extreme  prostration,  yet  short  of  actual  death.  But 
the  leading  passage,  specially  in  the  mind  of  our  prophet,  is  doubt- 
less Isa.  14. "Whom  dost  thou  pass  [surpass]  in  beauty  ?"     No 

matter  how  much  thou  mayest  have  surpassed  the  wealthiest  and 
proudest  nations  of  thy  time :  thine  end  is  to  go  down  to  that  under- 
world of  darkness  and  gloom,  to  be  laid  with  the  uncircumcised 

heathen  nations  for  Avhom  God  has  no  special  favor. The  clause, 

"She  is  delivered  to  the  sword,"  may  better  be  read;  "the  sword 
is  delivered,"  i.  e.,  to  thine,  enemies — put  into  their  hand  for  thy 
destruction.  "Drag  her  out" — bring  her  forth  from  her  strong- 
holds, and  slay  her  utterly. 

21.  The  strong  among  the  mighty  shall  speak  to  him  out 
of  the  midst  of  hell  with  them  that  help  him  :  they  are  gone 
down,  they  lie  uncircumcised,  slain  by  the  sword. 

The  sense  is,  The  strongest  of  his  mighty  ones  shall  accost  him 
and  his  helpers,  from  the  midst  of  hell.  They  have  already  gone 
down  and  are  lying  there,  the  uncircumcised,  slain  with  the  sword. 

The  reference  here  to  Isa.  14  is  obvious.     "  Hell  from  beneath 

is  moved  for  thee  to  meet  thee  at  thy  coming:  it  stirreth  up  the 
dead  for  thee,  even  all  the  chief  ones  of  the  earth;  it  hath  raised 
up  from  their  thrones  all  the  kings  of  the  nations.  All  tlie}^  shall 
speak  and  say  unto  thee,  Art  thou  also  become  weak  as  we?  Art 
thou  become  like  unto  us?     Thy  pomp  is  brought  down  to  the 


180  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXXII. 

grave,  and  the  noise  of  thy  viols:  the  woftn  is  spread  under  thee, 
and  the  worms  cover  thee.  How  art  thou  fallen  from  heaven,  O 
Lucifer,  son  of  the  morning !  how  art  thou  cut  down  to  the  ground, 
which  didst  weaken  the  nations !  " 

22.  Asshur  is  there  and  all  her  company :  his  graves  are 
about  him :  all  of  them  slain,  fallen  by  the  sword : 

23.  Whose  graves  are  set  in  the  sides  of  the  pit,  and  her 
company  is  round  about  her  grave  :  all  of  them  slain,  fallen 
by  the  sword,  which  caused  terror  in  the  land  of  the  living. 

The  general  statement,  "  the  strong  among  the  mighty,"  here  be- 
comes specific,  and  first  names  Assyria,  the  ancient  rival  and  enemy 
of  Egypt.     She  has  been  destroyed  already  and  lies  there  with  her 

hosts. "In  the  sides  of  the  pit;"  the  deep  recesses,  the  lowest 

depths.  In  Jer.  6:  22,  "The  sides  of  the  earth"  are  the  most  re- 
mote regions.  So  also  Jer.  25  :  32.  The  same  word  is  used  for  the 
inner  part  of  a  house  or  a  ship,  1  Kings  6 :  16,  Amos  6 :  10,  and 

Jon.  1 :  15. In  her  day  Assyria  was  mighty  on  the  earth  and 

smote  the  hearts  of  the  nations  with  terror.  Now  "  none  so  poor 
to  do  her  reverence."     Let  Egypt  take  warning! 

24.  There  is  Elam  and  all  her  multitude  round  about  her 
grave,  all  of  them  slain,  fallen  by  the  sword,  which  are  gone 
down  uncircumcised  into  the  nether  parts  of  the  earth,  which 
caused  their  terror  in  the  land  of  the  living;  yet  have  they 
borne  their  shame  wdtli  them  that  go  down  to  the  pit. 

25.  They  have  set  her  a  bed  in  the  midst  of  the  slain  witb 
all  her  multitude :  her  graves  are  round  about  him :  all  of 
them  uncircumcised,  slain  by  the  sword :  though  their  terror 
was  caused  in  the  land  of  the  living,  yet  have  they  borne 
their  shame  with  them  that  go  down  to  the  pit :  he  is  put 
in  the  midst  of  them  that  be  slain. 

Elam  has  suffered  overthrow:  her  nationality  has  been  smitten. 
Let  her  be  added  to  the  list  of  the  great  nations  in  the  under-world, 
ready  to  meet  Egypt  when  she  comes  down  to  the  same  abode. 
Elam  has  had  her  day  of  power,  a  terror  to  the  living  nations ;  hut 
she  also  hears  the  shame  of  those  who  go  down  to  a  dishonored 
national  grave. 

26.  There  is  Mesheck,  Tubal,  and  all  her  multitude :  her 
graves  are  round  about  him :  all  of  them  uncircumcised, 
slain  by  the  sword,  though  they  caused  their  terror  in  the 
land  of  the  living. 

27.  And  they  shall  not  lie  with  the  mighty  that  are  fiillcn 
of  the  uncircumcised,  that  are  gone  down  to  hell  with  their 
weapons  of  war:   and  they  have  laid  their  swords  under 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXXII.  181 

their  heads ;  but  their  iniquities  shall  be  upou  their  bones, 
though  they  ivere  the  terror  of  the  mighty  in  the  land  of  the 
living. 

28.  Yea,  thou  shalt  be  broken  in  the  midst  of  the  uncir- 
cumcised,  and  shalt  lie  down  with  them  that  are  slain  by  the 
sword. 

For  "Mesheck  and  Tubal/^  see  chap.  27:  13. V.  27  should 

obviously  commence  with  an  interrogation ;  Shall  not  all  these  lie 
with  the  mighty  ?  There  is  no  apparent  reason  why  the  negative 
sense  should  be  taken  here  in  opposition  to  the  general  strain  of 

the  entire  context. It  was  one  of  the  honors  paid  to  conquerors 

to  bury  their  Aveapons  of  war  in  the  same  grave  with  themselves. 
So  Alexander  the  Great  was  buried  with  his  sword.  This  usage 
suggests  to  the  prophet  that  their  iniquities  also  lie  upon  their 
bones — those  iniquities  for  which  God  has  doomed  them  to  such  an 
extermination  from  the  land  of  the  living. 

29.  There  is  Edom,  her  kings,  and  all  her  princes,  which 
with  their  might  are  laid  by  them  that  iverx  slain  by  the 
sword :  they  shall  lie  with  the  uncircumcised,  and  with  them 
that  go  down  to  the  pit. 

30.  There  be  the  princes  of  the  north,  all  of  them,  and 
all  the  Zidonians,  which  are  gone  down  with  the  slain :  with 
their  terror  they  are  ashamed  of  their  might ;  and  they  lie 
uncircumcised  with  them  that  be  slain  by  the  sword,  and  bear 
their  shame  with  them  that  go  down  to  the  pit. 

Edom,  with  the  nations  of  the  north,  including  the  Zidonians,  fill 
out  the  catalogue.  Essentially  the  same  points  arc  made  in  regard 
to  each  and  all.  They  have  been  subdued  and  broken;  their  na- 
tionality eclipsed  if  not  extinguished  under  the  righteous  judgments 
of  the  Almighty,  and  they  lie  in  the  under-world  ready  to  greet 
Egypt's  proud  king,  representing  her  fallen  nationality,  when  he 

shall  come  to  join  them. In  the  middle  clause  of  v.  30,  "with 

their  terror  they  are  ashamed  of  their  might,"  I  understand  to  mean 
that  despite  of  their  terrihlcness  once  among  the  nations  of  men,  they 
are  now  ashamed  of  their  might — thoroughly  weak  and  powerless. 

31.  Pharaoh  shall  see  them,  and  shall  be  comforted  over 
all  his  multitude,  even  Pharaoh  and  all  his  army  slain  by 
the  sword,  saith  the  Lord  God. 

32.  For  I  have  caused  my  terror  in  the  land  of  the  liv- 
ing :  and  he  shall  be  laid  in  the  midst  of  the  uncircumcised 
with  them  that  are  slain  with  the  sword,  even  Pharaoh  and 
all  his  multitude,  saith  the  Lord  God. 

Pharaoh  shall  have  the  comfort  of  whatever  sympathy  the  fellow- 
ship in  shame  and  defeat  of  such  nations  as  these  may  afiford. 


182  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXXIII. 

V.  32  may  be  translated,  "For  I  have  made  him  a  terror  [to  other 
nations]  in  the  land  of  the  living;  but  novi'  [prospectively]  he  is 
laid  out  .[in  his  narrow  bed]  in  the  midst  of  the  uncircumcised," 
etc.  The  prophet  marks  the  contrast  between  the  terror  he  once 
impressed  on  the  nations,  and  his  utter  powerlessness  now  in  his 

final  house  in  the  under-world. This  poetic  drapery  thrown  round 

the  idea  of  an  extinct  nationality — a  nation  itself  dying  out  from 
among  the  powers  of  the  earth  under  the  righteous  judgments  of 
God^s  grand  and  impressive.  Its  lessons  belong  to  all  time.  The 
nations  of  our  own  age  who  become  great  in  military  power,  mag- 
nificent in  their  wealth  and  splendor,  and  then  forget  God,  disown 
his  authority,  and  plant  their  foot  upon  his  higher  law  and  oppress 
his  sufi'ering  poor,  have  ample  cause  for  fear  and  trembling.  Are 
they  mighty  against  the  Great  God  ?  Can  they  evade  the  search  of 
his  eye  and  cope  with  the  might  of  his  arm?  Or  can  they  bring 
his  views  of  right  and  justice  down  to  their  own?  Or  will  they 
scoff  at  the  very  idea  of  his  rule  over  the  nations  of  men?  Let 
them  ponder  the  lessons  he  has  given  them  in  his  holy  word,  con- 
firmations of  which  are  written  also  on  all  the  face  of  the  world's 
history  since  nations  began  to  be,  to  this  hour.  Can  there  be  a 
greater  madness  than  to  dare  Jehovah's  wrath? 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 


This  chapter  has  a  manifest  unity  of  purpose  throughout,  its  aim 
considered  as  a  series  of  revelations  from  God  to  the  prophet  being 
first  to  impress  his  own  mind  with  a  just  sense  of  his  responsibility 
for  the  souls  of  the  people,  and  then  to  give  him  certain  messages 
which  demanded  precisely  this   conscious  sense  of  responsibility, 

and  this  true  fidelity  in  their  deliverance  to  the  people. The 

messages  to  be  borne  to  the  people  were,  (1.)  An  earnest  rebuke  and 
refutation  of  the  charge  against  God  of  crushing  the  people  down 
under  his  judgments  in  a  way  to  crush  out  all  hope  from  their  souls 
(vs.  10-20.):  (2.)  A  message  respecting  the  survivors  in  the  land 
of  Judah,  designed  to  slay  their  fiilse  hopes  and  open  their  eyes 
both  to  their  own  sins  and  to  the  certain  ruin  of  their  own  land : 
and  (3.)   A  rebuke  of  the  heartless  but  nicely-critical  hearing  of 

the  people  in  exile. In  a  moral  and  spiritual  point  of  view,  the 

chapter  is  one  of  the  highest  interest  and  value,  bearing  with  im- 
mense power  on  the  spiritual  life  of  the  people  among  whom  Eze- 
kiel  labored,  and  applying  with  equal  force  to  the  spiritual  state  of 
multitudes  in  every  gospel  land. 

1.  Again  the  word  of  the  Lord  came  unto  me,  saying, 

2.  Son  of  man,  speak  to  the  children  of  thy  people,  and 
say  unto  them.  When  I  bring  the  sword  upon  a  land,  if  the 
people  of  the  land  take  a  man  of  their  coasts,  and  set  him 
for  their  watchman : 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXXIII.  183 

3.  If  when  he  seeth  the  sword  come  upon  the  land,  he 
blow  the  trumpet,  and  warn  the  people ; 

4.  Then,  whosoever  heareth  the  sound  of  the  trumpet, 
and  taketh  not  warning ;  if  the  sword  come  and  take  him 
away,  his  blood  shall  be  upon  his  own  head. 

5.  He  heard  the  sound  of  the  trumpet,  and  took  not 
warning;  his  blood  shall  be  upon  him.  But  he  that  taketh 
warning  shall  deliver  his  soul. 

6.  But  if  the  watchman  see  the  sword  come,  and  blow 
not  the  trumpet,  and  the  people  be  not  warned;  if  the 
sword  come,  and  take  any  person  from  among  them,  he  is 
taken  away  in  his  iniquity ;  but  his  blood  will  I  require  at 
the  watchman's  hand. 

In  view  of  the  predatory  and  nomadic  habits  of  that  age  and 
country,  the  business  of  the  watchman  is  drawn  here  to  the  life. 
He  does  not  stand  on  some  lofty  tower  or  battlement  of  the  walled 
city;  but  he  is  a  scout,  far  out  on  the  borders  of  the  land,  on  the 
mountain  tops,  where  his  practiced  eye  will  command  a  sweep  of 
the  great  traveled  routes  which  an  invading  foe  must  take.  Then, 
trumpet  in  hand,  he  is  ready  to  give  the  shrill  and  long  notes  of 
danger  when  he  sees  the  sword  of  some  invading  foe  approaching. 
The  received  translation  of  v.  2,  "A  man  of  their  coasts;  "  im- 
plies that  the  watchman  would  be  chosen  from  those  who  resided 
on  the  borders  of  the  land.  A  slightly  different  sense  of  the  He- 
brew word  rendered  "coasts"  is  admissible  and  preferable,  viz.,  a 
man  of  their  lohole  number — one  of  their  men.  This  word  is  so  used 
in  Gen.  47:  2;  "He  took  five  out  of  the  whole  number  of  his  breth- 
ren." Also  Num.  22:  41.  "Balak  brought  Balaam  up  into  the 
high  places  of  Baal  that  there  he  might  see  the  utmost  part  of  the 
people  " — the  whole  mass.     Literally  it  means,  to  the  very  end  of 

them;  which  implies  seeing  them  all. The  same  illustration  of 

the  moral  duty  and  responsibility  of  the  Lord's  prophets  and  indeed 
of  all  his  ministering  servants  appears  chap.  3 :  17-21.  The  case 
supposed  and  its  application  are  entirely  clear.  When  it  is  made 
a  man's  special  duty  to  give  warning  of  danger,  when  the  life  of  a 
nation  depends  on  his  faithfulness,  he  has  but  one  course  to  think 
of;  he  must  be  on  the  alert  to  mark  approaching  danger,  and  must 
be  faithful  to  make  it  known  to  his  people.  Else  the  blood  of  souls 
will  be  required  of  him.  If  he  does  this  duty  faithfully,  and  the 
people,  duly  warned,  give  no  heed  to  his  warnings,  their  blood  will 
be  on  their  own  head.  He  has  done  his  duty  and  they  die  in  their 
folly  and  under  their  own  righteous  curse. — —So  every  minister  of 
the  gospel,  and  indeed  every  Christian  man  or  woman,  each  in  their 
own  sphere,  bear  responsibilities  for  others'  souls.  If  they  see  others 
in  sin,  exposed  to  perdition,  they  are  solemnly  bound  to  give  them 
warning  of  this  most  fearful  of  all  possible  dangers.  In  love  to 
their  souls,  under  the  bonds  of  our  broad  comprehensive  relation- 


184  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXXIII. 

ship  as  fellow-travelers  onward  to  a  world  of  eternal  retribution, 
there  can  be  no  exemption  from  this  responsibility.  Special  cir- 
cumstances may  intensify  it,  but  no  possible  circumstances  can 
exempt  any  human  being,  intelligent  of  obligation,  from  the  duty 
of  warning  faithfully  whomsoever  he  may  see  in  this  danger.  It 
is  a  responsibility  too  solemn  to  be  trifled  with ;  too  momentous  in 
its  results  to  be  treated  with  indifference ;  too  positive  and  pressing 
to  be  safely  evaded.     Alas !  that  so  few  are  found  faithful ! 

7.  So  thou,  O  son  of  man,  I  have  set  thee  a  watchman 
unto  the  house  of  Israel;  therefore  thou  shalt  hear  the 
word  at  my  mouth,  and  warn  them  from  me. 

8.  When  I  say  unto  the  wicked,  O  Avicked  man,  thou 
shalt  surely  die ;  if  thou  dost  not  speak  to  warn  the  wicked 
from  his  way,  that  wicked  man  shall  die  in  his  iniquity; 
but  his  blood  will  I  require  at  thy  hand. 

9.  Nevertheless,  if  thou  warn  the  wicked  of  his  way  to 
turn  from  it ;  if  he  do  not  turn  from  his  way,  he  shall  die 
in  his  iniquity;  but  thou  hast  delivered  thy  soul. 

The  Lord  himself  makes  the  application  of  this  case  of  the  watch- 
man. It  needs  no  further  explanation.  The  analogy  is  full  of 
pertinence  and  force. 

10.  Therefore,  O  thou  son  of  man,  speak  unto  the  house 
of  Israel ;  Thus  ye  speak,  saying,  If  our  transgressions  and 
our  sins  he  upon  us,  and  we  pine  away  in  them,  how  should 
we  then  live? 

"  Therefore,"  implies  that  the  prophet's  responsibilities  come  into 
play  at  once  as  a  watchman  in  rebuking  this  slanderous  imputation 
upon  the  justice  and  goodness  of  God.  Since  you  arc  such  a 
watchman  over  my  people  Israel,  note  the  spirit  of  this  saying  of 
theirs,  sift  its  meaning  and  its  implications  to  the  bottom,  and  then 
solemnly  warn  the  people  not  to  delude  themselves  and  not  to  im- 
pugn the  goodness  and  justice  of  God  by  this  implied  charge. 

"If  our  transgressions  and  our  sins  be  upon  us' — made  fast  and 
pressing  us  down  hopelessly — "and  we  pine  away  in  them" — 
doomed  to  waste  away  to  utter  ruin  under  their  crushing  weight — 
"how  should  we  then  live?"  Where  is  the  hope  for  us?  What 
can  we  do  but  lie  down  and  die  ?  Doomed  to  become  waste  and 
desolate  for  the  sins  of  the  nation,  what  hope  can  we  have  of  life  ? 

Twice  the  Lord  had  used  the  same  word  of  the  doom  of  the 

people  that  is  here  rendered,  ^^pine  mooi/,"  viz.,  chap.  4:  17 — ren- 
dered, "consume  away  for  their  iniquities;"  and  chap.  24:  23,  in 
precisely  the  same  words;  "  Ye  shall  pine  away  in  your  iniquities." 
Hence  the  occasion  (not  the  justification,  but  only  the  occasion)  for 
this  plea  of  a  hopeless  doom,  which  assumed  that  God  was  heart- 
lessly severe  and  which  ignored  his  repeated  promise  of  mercy  to 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXXIII.  185 

the  penitent.  Hence  the  Lord  replies  as  one  abused  and  wronged 
bj  an  unjust  implication. 

11.  Say  unto  them,  As  I  live  saitli  the  Lord  God,  I  have 
no  pleasure  in  the  death  of  the  wicked ;  but  that  the  wicked 
turn  from  his  way  and  live:  turn  ye,  turn  ye  from  your 
evil  ways ;  for  w^hy  Avill  ye  die,  O  house  of  Israel  ? 

This  implied  charge  touched  the  character  and  the  heart  of  God 
in  a  tender  point.  Nothing  could  be  so  cruelly  unjust!  Had  not 
their  OAvn  God  and  Father  loved  them  and  borne  with  them  in  all 
long-suffering  and  with  exceedingly  great  compassion?  Had  he 
ever  said  or  done  any  thing  which  could  with  any  fairness  be  con- 
strued to  imply  that  he  had  pleasure  in  the  death  of  the  wicked  ? 
Never!  On  the  contrary  he  had  always  shown  that  his  heart  was 
with  the  penitent,  and  his  highest  joy  in  those  who  turned,  sorrow- 
ing for  their  sins,  to  implore  his  merey.  Had  he  not  ]3esought 
them  to  turn  from  their  wicked  ways  and  live?  Had  not* his  heart 
and  hand  labored  for  this  result?  Had  he  ever  turned  coldly  away 
from  those  who  humbly  sought  his  mercy  ?  Never.  So  he  declares 
here,  under  the  solemnities  of  his  oath,  ajffirming  his  innocence  of 
the  cruel  charge  which  the  people  had  by  implication  brought 
against  him,  and  again  placing  the  issue  between  themselves  and 
him  on  its  true  merits — himself  entreating  them  to  turn  and  live, 
and  manifesting  his  most  tender  solicitude  to  secure  their  obedience 
and  life,  so  that  he  shall  not  be  compelled  to  enforce  his  fearful 

judgments  in  retribution  unto  their  swift  destruction. "Why 

will  ye  die?"  puts  the  issue  where  it  truly  lies — in  the  free  choice 
of  responsible  moral  agents.  Every  exhortation  and  entreaty  from 
the  Lord  had  fully  implied  their  power  as  rational  and  moral  ])e- 
ings  to  see  their  sins  and  God's  righteous  claims,  and  to  yield  their 
heart  to  the  force  of  his  appeals.  This  question  rests  the  case  on 
their  OAvn  free  purpose  and  choice.  If  ye  die  under  my  earnest 
entreaties  that  ye  turn  and  live,  it  will  be  because  ye  loill  die !  It 
will  not  be  because  I  have  doomed  you  to  a  hopeless  death  despite 
of  any  efforts  you  may  make  toward  life.  It  will  not  be  because 
I  have  any  pleasure  in  your  death  and  feel  no  interest  in  your  re- 
pentance unto  life.  It  will  be  only  and  wholly  because,  with  life 
and  death  both  before  you  for  your  own  free  choice,  you  will  choose 
death ! 

12.  Therefore,  thou  son  of  man,  say  unto  the  children  of 
thy  people,  The  righteousness  of  the  righteous  shall  not 
deliver  him  in  the  day  of  his  transgression :  as  for  the 
wickedness  of  the  wicked,  he  shall  not  fall  thereby  in  the 
day  that  he  turneth  from  his  w^ickedness ;  neither  shall  the 
righteous  be  able  to  live  for  his  righteousness  in  the  day 
that  he  sinneth. 

13.  AVlien  I  shall  say  to  the  righteous,  that  he  shall  surely 
live;  if  he  trust  to  his  own  righteousness,  and  commit  iniquity, 


186  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXXIII. 

all  his  righteousness  shall  not  be  remembered ;  but  for  his 
iniquity  that  he  hath  committed,  he  shall  die  for  it. 

14.  Again,  when  I  say  unto  the  wicked.  Thou  shalt 
surely  die ;  if  he  turn  from  his  sin,  and  do  that  which  is 
lawful  and  right; 

15.  If  the  wicked  restore  the  pledge,  give  again  that  he 
had  robbed,  walk  in  the  statutes  of  life,  without  commit- 
ting iniquity;  he  shall  surely  live,  he  shall  not  die. 

16.  None  of  his  sins  that  he  hath  committed  shall  be 
mentioned  unto  him:  he  hath  done  that  which  is  lawful 
and  right ;  he  shall  surely  live. 

17.  Yet  the  children  of  thy  people  say.  The  way  of  the 
Lord  is  not  equal :  but  as  for  them,  their  way  is  not  equal. 

18.  When  the  righteous  turneth  from  his  righteousness, 
and  committeth  iniquity,  he  shall  even  die  thereby. 

19.  But  if  the  wicked  turn  from  his  wickedness,  and  do 
that  which  is  lawful  and  right,  he  shall  live  thereby. 

20.  Yet  ye  say.  The  way  of  the  Lord  is  not  equal.  O 
ye  house  of  Israel,  I  will  judge  you  every  one  after  his 
ways. 

See  chap.  18,  where  the  same  points  are  made  with  even  greater 
fullness  and  more  ample  repetition. The  bearing  of  these  state- 
ments to  the  point  now  in  hand  is  obvious.  The  Lord  insists  that 
he  holds  the  door  most  fully  open  for  the  repentance  of  every 
sinner.  If  he  will  turn  from  his  wickedness  to  cordial  obedience, 
he  shall  surely  live.  If  he  turns  from  a  just  and  upright  life  to 
sin,  he  shall  certainly  die.  If  the  people  charge  their  God  Avith 
injustice  in  his  ways,  he  denies  the  charge,  and  avers  that  their 
ways  are  utterly  unjust  and  unequal  toward  himself  His  judg- 
ments of  them  will  evermore  be  precisely  according  to  their  ways. 

21.  And  it  came  to  pass  in  the  twelfth  year  of  our  cap- 
tivity, in  the  tenth  month,  in  the  fifth  day  of  the  month, 
that  one  that  had  escaped  out  of  Jerusalem  came  unto  me, 
saying.  The  city  is  smitten. 

22.  Now  the  hand  of  the  Lord  was  upon  me  in  the  even- 
ing, before  he  that  was  escaped  came;  and  had  opened  my 
mouth,  until  he  came  to  me  in  the  morning ;  and  my 
mouth  was  opened,  and  I  was  no  more  dumb. 

The  most  obvious  mode  of  reckoning  makes  this  period  about 
one  and  a  half  years  after  the  fall  of  the  city.  Consequently 
some  have  supposed  there  must  be  an  error  in  the  text,  since  they 
assume  that  tlie  news  of  that  event  must  have  reached  the  prophet 
and  his  brethren  in  Chaldea  long  ere  this.  Yet  this  may  possibly 
have  been  his  first  intelligence  of  the  fall  of  the  city,  delayed  so 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXXIIL  187 

long  by  causes  unknown  to  us.  It  should  be  noted  that  the  word 
revealed  from  the  Lord  (vs.  24-29)  came  to  meet  a  feeling  among 
tlie  scattered  remnant  in  Judea  which  developed  itself  some  time 
subsequent  to  the  fall  of  the  city.      Hence  the  date  as  here  given 

i§  doubtless  correct. V.  22  implies  that  during  the  evening  and 

night  previous  to  the  arrival  of  this  messenger,  the  Lord  had  re- 
markably opened  his  mouth  to  speak — perhaps  by  impressing  his 
own  solemn  responsibilities  as  a  prophet-watchman,  in  the  line  of 
the  thought  in  vs.  1-9;  and  perhaps  also  in  anticipation  of  the 
effect  of  these  tidings  upon  the  people.  The  fall  of  the  city  could 
scarcely  fail  to  make  solemn  impressions  on  the  exiles.  It  would 
create  a  crisis,  demanding  the  most  urgent  pressure  of  truth  upon 
their  heart  and  conscience.  Many  of  their  cherished  worldly  hopes 
were  thereby  utterly  blasted;  could  they  be  brought  now  to  aban- 
don all  such  hopes  and  seek  their  good  in  the  Lord  alone  ? Such 

crises  occur  in  the  life  of  communities,  and  of  individuals  also,  in 
which  if  the  servants  of  God  are  in  true  communion  with  him  they 
will  find  their  souls  deeply  moved  with  zeal  and  love,  and  their 
mouths  opened  to  press  the  truth  of  God  upon  men  for  their  salva- 
tion. The  philosophy  of  revivals  of  religion  turns  on  this  great 
law  of  the  divine  administration  in  providence  and  grace. 


^&' 


23.  Then  the  word  of  the  Lord  came  unto  me,  sayinj^ 

24.  Son  of  man,  they  that  inhabit  those  wastes  of  the 
land  of  Israel  speak,  saying,  Abraham  was  one,  and  he  in- 
herited the  land :  but  we  are  many ;  the  land  is  given  us 
for  inheritance. 

Those  who  were  then  "  inhabiting  the  wastes  of  the  land  of  Israel " 
were  the  small  remnant  of  poor  men  that  survived  the  fall  of  the 
city.  Jeremiah  has  given  their  history  in  chaps.  40-44.  They  are 
seen  here  deluding  themselves  with  the  hope  that  the  land  was 
given  them  for  their  permanent  inheritance.  Their  argument  ran 
thus :  Abraham  was  but  one  man ;  yet  God  gave  him  this  whole 
land  by  promise,  and  all  he  could  use,  in  fact.  We  are  many; 
certainly  he  will  give  it  to  us  to  re-people  and  to  restore  to  its  former 

greatness. Ah,  how  could  they  overlook  the  contrast  between 

Abraham's  faith  in  God  and  their  unbelief;  Abraham's  conscien- 
tious, consistent,  most  exemplary  piety,  and  their  persistent,  deep- 
rooted,  and  unutterably  loathsome  iniquity !  They  seem  not  to  have 
had  the  slightest  sense  of  the  moral  grounds  on  which  God  gave 
Abraham  the  land  of  Canaan. 

25.  Wherefore  say  unto  them.  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God ; 
Ye  eat  with  the  blood,  and  lift  up  your  eyes  toward  your 
idols,  and  shed  blood :  and  shall  ye  possess  the  land  ? 

26.  Ye  stand  upon  your  sword,  ye  work  abomination, 
and  ye  defile  every  one  his  neighbor's  wife:  and  shall  ye 
possess  the  land? 


188  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXXIII. 

27.  Say  thou  thus  unto  them,  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God ; 
As  I  live,  surely  they  that  are  in  the  wastes  shall  fall  by  the 
sword,  and  him  that  is  in  the  open  field  will  I  give  to  the 
beasts  to  be  devoured,  and  they  that  be  in  the  forts  and  in 
the  caves  shall  die  of  the  pestilence. 

28.  For  I  will  lay  the  land  most  desolate,  and  the  pomp 
of  her  strength  shall  cease ;  and  the  mountains  of  Israel 
shall  be  desolate,  that  none  shall  pass  through. 

29.  Then  shall  they  know  that  I  am  the  Lord,  when  I 
have  laid  the  land  most  desolate  because  of  all  their  abom- 
inations which  they  have  committed. 

The  Lord's  reply  is  in  two  parts:  (1.)  To  show  them  their  sin 
and  appeal  to  their  moral  sense  whether  they  could  or  ought  to 
possess  the  land  (vs.  25,  26;)  and  (2.)  To  declare  most  solemnly 
that  he  would  give  them  to  the  sword  and  the  land  to  utter  desola- 
tion,  until  they   should  know  that  he  is   the  Lord,  the  righteous 

Ruler  and  Judge  of  his  apostate  people  (vs.  27-29). In  v.  25, 

"to  eat  with  the  blood"  is  to  eat  animal  flesh  with  its  own  blood — 
forbidden  most  explicitly  (Gen.  9 :  4),  and  especially  in  the  law  by 
Moses  (Lev.  7:  26,  and  17:  10,  14,  and  19:  26).  To  "lift  up  the 
eyes  toward  idols"  is  to  regard  them  with  reverence  and  worship. 
"  Shedding  blood  "  is  of  course  taking  human  life  by  violence.  "  Ye 
stand  upon  your  sword"  means.  Ye  rely  upon  it,  in  place  of  rely- 
ing upon  God. Shall  men  guilty  of  such  crimes  inherit  the  land 

of  the  Lord?     Sooner  would  he  make  it  as  Sodom. In  v.  27, 

the  word  rendered  "forts"  is  strongholds — sometimes  artificial,  i.  e., 
castles,  fortresses;  and  sometimes  places  of  great  natural  strength. 
Coupled  here  with  "  caves,"  the  latter  is  doubtless  the  sense.  In 
its  wild  mountain  districts,  Judea  abounded  with  such  caves  and 
fastnesses.     The  books  of  Samuel  refer  to  them  {e.  g.,  1  Sam.  13  :  6 ;) 

so  does  Josephus. God  will  find  out  these  wicked  men  in  those 

apparently  secure  retreats,  and  will  smite  them  with  pestilence. 

So  vain  it  must  ever  be  to  expect  good  from  the  Lord's  hand  while 
living  in  sin,  or  to  hope  to  escape  his  threatened  judgments  other- 
wise than  by  turning  heartily  from  one's  iniquities.  We  look  with 
surprise  mingled  with  pity  and  shame  upon  the  infatuation  and  de- 
lusion of  that  last  remnant  of  wicked  Jews  in  Judea.  How  happy 
if  their  case  did  not  exemplify  a  like  delusion,  and  folly  equally  sad 
and  equally  amazing,  among  myriads  of  sinners  in  gospel  lands ! 

30.  Also,  thou  son  of  man,  the  children  of  thy  people  still 
are  talking  against  thee  by  the  walls  and  in  the  doors  of  the 
houses,  and  speak  one  to  another,  every  one  to  his  brother, 
saying.  Come,  I  pray  you,  and  hear  what  is  the  word  that 
Cometh  forth  from  the  Lord. 

31.  And  they  come  unto  thee  ^s  the  people  cometh,  and 
they  sit  before  thee  as  my  people,  and  they  hear  thy  words, 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXXIII.  189 

but  they  will  not  do  them :  for  with  their  mouth  they  shew 
much  love,  but  their  heart  goeth  after  their  covetousness. 

32.  And  lo,  thou  art  unto  them  as  a  very  lovely  song  of 
one  that  hath  a  pleasant  voice,  and  can  play  well  on  an  in- 
strument: for  they  hear  thy  words,  but  they  do  them  not. 

33.  And  when  this  cometh  to  pass,  (lo,  it  will  come,)  then 
shall  they  know  that  a  prophet  hath  been  among  them. 

Here  is  an  inside  view  of  the  moral  life  of  the  people  among 
whom  Ezekiel  lived  and  prophesied  in  Chaldea,  showing  how  they 
talked  about  him  between  themselves  and  behind  his  back;  how 
they  sat  and  heard  his  messages ;  how  they  enjoyed  his  rich,  lively, 
highly  cultivated  and  finely  poetic  style,  and  said  very  compli- 
mentary things  about  it  and  about  him,  but  never  thought  of  doin^ 
the  things  which  the  Lord  through  him  enjoined  as  their  duty,  and 
only  let  their  heart  press  on  recklessly  after  their  unrighteous  gain. 
The  whole  description  is  beautifully  graphic  and  finely  drawn,  but  in 
its  moral  showing  is  exceedingly  painful,  revealing  among  that  people 
an  intense  depravity,  and  suggesting  the  fearful  truth  that  other 
myriads  in  gospel  lands  are  using  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  in 
the  same  way,  for  the  same  ends  of  amusement,  the  same  gratifi- 
cation of  literary  taste,  and  the  same  pride  in  displaying  their  crit- 
ical  skill  in   making   comments   on    sermons. Ezekiel   was    a 

prophet  of  rare  literary  merit.  With  astonishing  variety  in  his 
modes  of  illustration ;  with  great  wealth  of  dramatic  representation 
and  of  poetic  imagery,  and  with  a  style  always  rich  and  fervid,  he 
must  have  been  eminently  popular'  in  our  modern  sense  of  the  term. 
No  wonder  the  people  admired  his  genius  and  his  culture,  and 
came  to  hear  him  as  men  go  to  hear  a  lovely  song  of  one  who  hath 
a  pleasant  voice  and  can  play  well  on  a  fine  instrument.  But  they 
failed  to  notice  that  God  sent  Ezekiel  with  these  engaging  qualities 
and  encouraged  him  in  their  use,  not  to  amuse  their  "itching 
ears,"  and  not  even  to  gratify  the  universal  sensibility  to  this  sort 
of  pleasure,  but  for  objects  far  higher  than  these;  viz.,  to  arrest 
their  attention  and  to  make  on  their  souls  a  deeper  impression  of  the 
great  and  solemn  truths  on  which  their  temporal  life  and  eternal 
well-being  depended.  These  were  the  ends  that  God  and  his 
prophet  had  in  view.  Alas,  that  they  should  fail  through  the  guilty 
perversion  of  the  hearers !  Alas,  that  these  hearers  should  have 
sought  their  own  present  low  gratification,  and  should  not  have  had 
the  moral  sense  and  the  sober  thought  to  say.  This  tells  us  of  our 
own  sin  and  peril — of  our  own  God  and  duty — of  our  ovra.  present 

responsibility  and  future  doom ! One  tear  of  sympathy  for  Ezekiel. 

How  he  must  have  felt  under  this  strange  and  sad  revelation  of  the 
hearts  of  his  hearers!  Ah,  (he  must  have  said).  Is  this  the  only 
outcome  of  all  my  expostulations  and  tears ;  of  all  my  domestic  be- 
reavements, my  personal  discomforts,  my  torturing  solicitudes,  my 
daily  prayers,  the  agony  of  my  sympathy  with  a  people  bent  on 
ruin!  Does  it  all  end  in  this,  that  they  hear  me  for  their  own 
amusement  and  make  my  discourses  the  topics  of  their  keen  or 


190  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXXIV. 

their  applauding  criticism;  but  not  a  man  of  them  thinks  of  saving 
his  own  soul;  not  a  man  cares  to  turn  from  his  sins  that  he  may 

live? Did  not  the  good  man's  heart  sink  within  him?     Did  he 

not  say,  Ah  me,  how  can  I  endure  such  flattery  or  such  dispraise 
(all  the  same),  when  the  only  real  fruit  for  the  great  eventful 
future  is  to  be  the  deeper  guilt*  and  the  more  awful  doom  of  these 

heartless  hearers ! It  is  remarkable  that  this  expose  of  the  spirit 

of  Ezekiel's  hearers  should  stand  in  such  juxtaposition  with  the 
Lord's  admonition  to  him  to  do  his  duty  faithfully  as  their  spiritual 
watchman.  Let  us  hope  that  the  quickened  sense  of  this  responsi- 
bility more  than  counterbalanced  the  chilling  influence  naturally 
resulting  from  such  disclosures  as  were  made  in  these  last  verses. 
He  might  still  have  the  joy  of  feeling  that  he  had  sought  to  please 

God  and  to  be  faithful  to  their  souls. The  manner  in  which  the 

Lord  meets  this  manifestation  in  the  people  should  be  noticed. 
When  my  judgments  shall  break  forth  upon  them  (as  they  surely 
must  soon),  "  then  shall  they  know  that  a  prophet  has  been  among 
them!"  a  prophet,  forewarning  them  from  God  of  their  impending 
doom,  and  not  a  mere  poet,  stage-actor,  or  singer;  to  afford  them 
amusement  and  help  them  murder  time,  stifle  conviction  of  truth, 
and  smooth  their  way  to  perdition! 


CHAPTER   XXXIV. 


In  this  chapter  the  Lord's  people  appear  as  his  "^ocA-."  The 
figure  of  the  shepherd  and  his  sheep  is  maintained  throughout. 
The  corrupt  priests,  false  prophets,  and  wicked  princes  of  Israel 
and  Judah  stand  here  as  the  shepherds  who  have  long  had  the  care 
of  the  Lord's  flock.  They  are  denounced;  their  wicked  and  ruinous 
policy  is  portrayed ;  and  they  receive  their  doom.  The  Lord  him- 
self assumes  the  care  of  his  flock ;  will  raise  up  his  servant  David 
to  be  their  Shepherd  and  their  Prince ;  and  so  the  highest  prosperity 

shall  ensue. As  to  date,  it  must  be  assumed  that  this  prophecy 

follows  the  period  named  chap.  33:  21;  i.  e.,  follows  the  arrival  of 
the  tidings  that  the  city  of  Jerusalem  is  smitten.  .  Probably  it  was 
brought  out  immediately  afl:er.  Remarkably  in  both  Jeremiah  and 
Ezekiel,  the  strain  of  prophecy  is  that  of  warning  and  denunciation 
before  the  fall  of  the  city,  but  of  consolation  and  promise  after  that 
fall.  The  reason  of  this  is  obvious.  Before,  the  people  were  vainly 
self-confident:  after,  they  were  desponding.  Before,  they  needed 
stern  rebuke;  after,  the  inspirations  of  promise  and  of  hope.  So 
God  is  wont  to  deal  with  his  people. 

1.  And  the  word  of  the  Lord  came  unto  me,  saying, 

2.  Son  of  man,  prophesy  against  the  shepherds  of  Israel, 
prophesy,  and  say  unto  them.  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God  unto 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXXIV.  191 

the  shepherds;  Woe  he  to  the  shepherds  of  Israel  that  do 
feed  themselves  !  should  not  the  shepherds  feed  the  flocks  ? 

3.  Ye  eat  the  fat,  and  ye  clothe  you  with  the  wool,  ye  kill 
them  that  are  fed :  but  ye  feed  not  the  flock. 

4.  The  diseased  have  ye  not  strengthened,  neither  have  ye 
healed  that  which  was  sick,  neither  have  ye  bound  up  that 
which  ivas  broken,  neither  have  ye  brought  again  that  which 
was  driven  away,  neither  have  ye  sought  that  which  was 
lost;  but  with  force  and  with  cruelty  have  ye  ruled  them. 

5.  And  they  were  scattered,  because  there  is  no  shepherd : 
and  they  became  meat  to  all  the  beasts  of  the  field  when 
they  were  scattered. 

6.  My  sheep  wandered  through  all  the  mountains,  and 
upon  every  high  hill :  yea,  my  flock  was  scattered  upon  all 
the  face  of  the  earth,  and  none  did  search  or  seek  after 
them. 

Shepherd  life  was  familiar  in  all  the  East.  Whole  tribes  and  na- 
tions subsisted  mainly  upon  their  flocks  and  herds.  No  wonder 
therefore  that  it  appears  as  a  figure  to  illustrate  the  spiritual  care 
of  the  Lord's  people. Jer.  23 :  1-4  gives  the  outlines  of  this  en- 
tire chapter  of  Ezekiel.  The  reader  will  readily  recall  the  frequent 
allusions  to  the  shepherd  and  his  flock  in  the  discourses  of  our  Lord, 
especially  in  John  10.  Nothing  else  in  human  life  could  furnish 
illustrations  of  this  thing  at  once  so  simple,  so  beautiful,  and  so  per- 
tinent.  Those  men  of  leading  influence  in  the  Jewish  State — the 

priests,  the  false  prophets,  and  the  princes — (for  all  these  are  in- 
cluded here)  had  fed  themselves  only  and  never  the  flock.  Selfish 
men,  they  had  sought  only  their  own  aggrandizement  and  not  at  all 
the  spiritual  good  of  the  people,  or  the  honor  of  the  God  of  Israel. 
The  case  of  the  flock  affords  many  apposite  illustrations  of  this  self- 
ishness. A  bad  shepherd  neglects  the  feeble,  the  sick,  the  maimed, 
and  the  wandering;  and  appropriates  the  fat  and  well-conditioned 
for  his  personal  use.  So  had  these  vile  men  utterly  neglected  the 
spiritual  culture  of  the  people  and  sought  only  their  own  personal 
self-indulgence. 

7.  Therefore,  ye  shepherds,  hear  the  word  of  the  Lord  ; 

8.  As  I  live,  saith  the  Lord  God,  surely  because  my  flock 
became  a  prey,  and  my  flock  became  meat  to  every  beast 
of  the  field,  because  there  ivas  no  shepherd,  neither  did  my 
shepherds  search  for  my  flock,  but  the  shepherds  fed  them- 
selves, and  fed  not  my  flock ; 

9.  Therefore,  O  ye  shepherds,  hear  the  word  of  the  Lord ; 

10.  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God;  Behold,  I  am  against  the 
shepherds ;  and  I  will  require  my  flock  at  their  hand,  and 
cause  them  to  cease  from  feeding  the  flock  ;  neither  shall 


192  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXXIV, 

the  shepherds  feed  themselves  any  more ;  for  I  will  deliver  my 
flock  from  their  mouth,  that  they  may  not  be  meat  for  them. 

11.  For  thus  saith  the  Lord  God;  Behold,  I,  even  I,  will 
both  search  my  sheep,  and  seek  them  out. 

12.  As  a  shepherd  seeketh  out  his  flock  in  the  day  that 
he  is  among  his  sheep  that  are  scattered ;  so  will  I  seek  out 
my  sheep,  and  will  deliver  them  out  of  all  places  where  they 
have  been  scattered  in  the  cloudy  and  dark  day. 

The  two  great  points  made  here  are  (1.)  That  God  is  against 
those  vile  shepherds  and  will  hold  them  to  a  strict  accountability; 
and  (2.)  That  he  will  depose  them  from  their  place  and  assume  the 
service  himself.  He  will  do  this  work  faithfully.  He  will  seek  out 
the  wandering  and  the  lost.     Be  his  name  praised  for  this  promise ! 

'"Scattered  in  the  cloudy  and  dark  day,"  looks  to  the  scenes 

of  sore  calamity  through  which  the  nation  passed.  As  sheep  would 
very  naturally  scatter  and  become  missing  in  a  day  of  deep  eclipse, 
so  the  people  of  the  Lord  needed  to  be  specially  sought  out  after 
those  scenes  of  great  national  calamity, 

13.  And  I  wall  bring  them  out  from  the  j^eople,  and 
gather  them  from  the  countries,  and  wdll  bring  to  their  own 
land,  and  feed  them  upon  the  mountains  of  Israel  by  the 
rivers,  and  in  all  the  inhaited  places  of  the  country. 

14.  I  will  feed  them  in  a  good  pasture,  and  upon  the  high 
mountains  of  Israel  shall  their  fold  be :  there  shall  they  lie 
in  a  good  fold,  and  in  a  fat  pasture  shall  they  feed  upon  the 
mountains  of  Israel. 

15.  I  will  feed  my  flock,  and  I  will  cause  them  to  lie 
down,  saith  the  Lord  God. 

16.  I  will  seek  that  which  was  lost,  and  bring  again  that 
which  was  driven  away,  and  will  bind  uj)  that  ivhieh  was 
broken,  and  will  strengthen  that  which  was  sick :  but  I  will 
destroy  the  fat  and  the  strong ;  I  will  feed  them  with  judg- 
ment. 

Of  course  the  language  and  figures  used  in  conveying  divine  promise 
to  the  Jews  must  be  Jeivish,  familiarly  known.  Scattered  now  in 
exile,  the  first  promise  is  restoration  to  their  land.  This  is  natural. 
And  it  was  true  in  its  literal  sense.  The  Lord  did  promise  to  re- 
store them  to  their  mother-land, — and  fuljillcd  it.  But  he  promises 
here  more  than  he  fulfilled  then  and  there  in  the  restoration  under 
Zerubabbel.  This  will  appear  more  fully  when  we  compare  other 
prophecies  of  Ezekiel  parallel  Avith  this;  e.  g.,  chap.  3G:  24-38,  and 
37 :  15-28.     See  notes  on  these  passages  for  a  more  full  discussion  of 

the  points  involved. In  the  close  of  v.  16  a  new  fact  appears — the 

curse  of  God  upon  "  the  fat  and  the  strong."  Fatness  of  flesh  is  a 
Hebrew  symbol  for  hardness  of  heart.     "  Jeshurun"  [the  upright] 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXXIV.  193 

"  waxed  fat  and  kicked :  thou  art  waxen  fat,  thou  art  grown  thick, 
thou  art  covered  Avith  fatness :  then  he  forsook  God  who  made  him 
and  lightly  esteemed  the  Rock  of  his  Salvation."  (Deut.  32 :  15)! 
The  "heart  waxed  gross"  [fat]  always  indicated  moral  obtuseness. 
See  Ac.  28 :  27.  Hence  these  terms  refer  here  to  the  morally  hard- 
ened among  the  people,  perhaps  including  the  priests  and  false 
prophets,  though  they  appear  previously  as  bad  shepherds.  The 
sense  is,  all  the  hopelessly  wicked. 

17.  And  as  for  you,  O  my  flock,  thus  saith  the  Lord 
God ;  Behold,  I  judge  between  cattle  and  cattle,  betAveen 
the  rams  and  the  he-goats. 

This  is  a  discrimination  between  the  morally  good  and  the  mor- 
ally bad.  The  radical  distinction  between  sheepand  goats  in  their 
temper  and  in  their  habits  suggests  the  discrimination  as  to  moral 

character  which  the  Lord  will  bring  to  light  in  his  judgment. 

Is  not  this  passage  the  foundation  of  that  remarkable  language  of 
our  Lord  in  reference  to  the  final  judgment  (Mat.  25:  31-33)? 
"  Before  him  shall  be  gathered  all  nations,  and  he  shall  separate 
them  one  from  another  as  a  shepherd  divideth  his  sheep  from  the 


18.  Seemeth  it  a  small  thing  unto  you  to  have  eaten  up 
the  good  pasture,  but  ye  must  tread  down  Avith  your  feet 
the  residue  of  your  pastures  ?  and  to  have  drunk  of  the 
deep  waters,  but  ye  must  foul  the  residue  with  your  feet  ? 

19.  And  as  for  my  flock,  they  eat  that  which  ye  have 
trodden  with  your  feet ;  and  they  drink  that  which  ye  have 
fouled  with  your  feet. 

Here  appears  yet  another  illustration  of  the  spirit  and  ways  of 
the  vile  shepherds  who  are  now  the  he-goats,  leaders  of  the  flock, 
or  the  fat  ones,  leading  the  lean.  They  not  only  eat  up  the  good 
pasture  themselves,  but  trample  down  all  they  do  not  eat,  reserving 
nothing  good  for  the  feeble ;  and  they  drink  of  the  deep,  placid  and 
pure  waters,  and  then  foul  the  rest  with  their  feet — so  that  they 
leave  for  the  Lord's  flock  no  grass  but  what  they  have  trodden 
down,  and  no  water  save  what  they  have  made  foul.  Was  this  a 
small  thing  ?  Was  it  not  more  than  merely  mean  f  Was  it  not 
supremely  wicked  ? 

20.  Therefore  thus  saith  the  Lord  God  unto  them ;  Be- 
hold, I,  even  I,  will  judge  between  the  fat  cattle  and  be- 
tween the  lean  cattle. 

21.  Because  ye  have  thrust  with  side  and  with  shoulder, 
and  pushed  all  the  diseased  wdth  your  horns,  till  ye  have 
scattered  them  abroad; 

22.  Therefore  will  I  save  my  flock,  and  they  shall  no 
more  be  a  prey ;  and  I  will  judge  between  cattle  and  cattle. 

9 


194  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXXIV. 

The  vile  shepherds  appear  as  the  fat  cattle,  thrusting  the  feeble 
and  diseased  with  side  and  shoulder  and  pushing* them  with  the 
horn.  God  will  bring  them  to  account  and  will  save  his  flock  from 
such  abuse. 

23.  And  I  will  set  up  one  Shepherd  over  them,  and  he 
shall  feed  them,  even  my  servant  David ;  he  shall  feed  them, 
and  he  shall  be  their  shepherd. 

24.  And  I  the  Lord  will  be  their  God,  and  my  servant 
David  a  prince  among  them ;  I  the  Lord  have  spoken  it 

This  "  one  shepherd,  the  Lord's  "  servant  David,"  is  the  promised 
Messiah.  He  can  be  no  other.  No  other  exposition  of  this  promise 
is  possible,  in  harmony  with  the  scope  of  the  context,  and  the  de- 
mands of  parallel  passages.  King  David  was  the  great  model  shep- 
herd-king, walking  in  the  main  after  the  very  heart  of  God,  and, 
therefore,  of  all  the  kings  of  the  chosen  people,  the  best  representa- 
tive and  model  of  the  great  Messiah.  This  fact  stands  out  with 
freat  prominence  in  numerous  prophecies.  See  2  Sam.  7 :  12-29, 
's.  2  and  110,  Isa.  9:  2-7  and  11:  1-10  and  42:  1-4,  Jer.  23  :  5, 
6,  and  33:  14-22,  Ezek.  37:  21-28,  Hos.  3:  5,  and  Mic.  5:  2,  3. 
This  hst  does  not  exhaust  the  prophecies  that  refer  to  the  Messiah. 
It  aims  only  to  group  together  some  of  those  in  which  he  appears 

as  specially  related  to  David.' He  is  one  shepherd  over  all  the 

people^  with  reference  to  the  sad  disruption  of  the  nation  by  Jero- 
boam.    They  are  all  to  be  united  under  him,  as  in  chap.  37 :  15-28, 

and  Isa.  11:  13. He  is   called  a  '■'■prince  among  them"  rather 

than  a  king,  pcrhnps  in  keeping  with  the  usage  of  Ezekiel  who  ap- 
plies this  word  ''p^-ince"  to  the  Jewish  kings;  or  perhaps  with  ref- 
erence to  1  Kings  11:  34;  "I  will  not  take  the  whole  kingdom  out 
of  his"  [Eohoboam's]  "hand,  but  I  will  make  him.  prince  all  the 

days  of  his  life,"  etc. The  Lord  has  solemnly  spoken  this  and 

will  perform  it — an  indication  of  the  momentous  value  of  this 
promise. 

25.  And  I  will  make  with  them  a  covenant  of  peace,  and 
will  cause  the  evil  beasts  to  cease  out  of  the  land :  and  they 
shall  dwell  safely  in  the  wilderness,  and  sleep  in  the  woods. 

26.  And  I  will  make  them  and  the  places  round  about 
my  hill  a  blessing;  and  I  will  cause  the  shower  to  come 
down  in  his  season ;  there  shall  be  showers  of  blessing. 

27.  And  the  tree  of  -the  field  shall  yield  her  fruit,  and 
the  earth  shall  yield  her  increase,  and  they  shall  be  safe  in 
their  land,  and  shall  know  that  I  am  the  Lord,  when  I  have 
bi'oken  the  bands  of  their  yoke,  and  delivered  them  out  of 
the  hand  of  those  that  served  themselves  of  them. 

28.  And  they  shall  no  more  be  a  prey  to  the  heathen, 
neither  shall  the  beasts  of  the  land  devour  them ;  but  they 
shall  dwell  safely,  and  none  shall  make  them  afraid. 


f 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXXIV.  195 

The  figure  of  the  flock  is  still  kept  up  with  great  beauty  and  force. 
God  will  make  with  them  a  covenant  of  peace,  binding  the  wild 
beasts  [outside  enemies]  to  keep  the  peace  with  them  and  do  them 
no  harm.  So  the  flock  will  be  safe  anywhere,  in  the  wilderness  or 
the  forests.  "None  shall  hurt  or  destroy  in  all  God's  holy  mount- 
ain."  1  will  make  both  them  and  the  environs  of  my  hill  [Zion] 

a  blessing,  causing  them  not  only  to  enjoy  good  themselves,  but  to 
impart  good  to  others.  By  the  "environs"  (the  "places  round 
about  my  hill")  are  meant  the  heathen  nations,  converted  to  the 
living  God.     See  the  same  figure  Jer.  31 :  38-40,  to  which  Ezekiel 

may  perhaps  allude. The  last  part  of  v.  26  should  read,  "I  will 

bring  down  the  great  rain  in  its  time ;  floods  of  blessing  shall  it 
be."  The'  Hebrew  word  used  here  always  means  a  great  rain.  The 
figure  of  rain  as  a  symbol  and  pledge  of  all  divine  blessings  appears 
in  full  in  Lev.  26 :  3-6,  19,  20.  See  also  Deut.  11 :  14,  15.  In  Pal- 
estine, rain  was  eminently  appropriate  to  denote  the  gi-eat  central 
blessing  on  which  all  other  blessings  depended  inasmuch  as  in  that 
climate  rain  stood  in  precisely  this  relation  to  all  vegetable  growth, 
animal  subsistence,  and  external  beauty.  If  they  had  ample  and 
timely  rains  they  had  every  thing  else.     If  they  failed  of  this,  they 

failed  of  all. In  vs.  27,  28,  the  figure  is  dropped  and  the  literal 

conception  appears.  The  political  bands  of  the  people  are  broken ; 
the  exiles  return  safely  to  their  country  and  their  homes,  no  more  a 
prey  to  the  heathen,  but  dwelling  safely  in  their  own  loved  land. 

29.  And  I  will  raise  up  for  them  a  Plant  of  renown,  and 
they  shall  be  no  more  consumed  with  hunger  in  the  land, 
neither  bear  the  shame  of  the  heathen  any  more. 

Our  translators  seem  to  have  taken  the  word  rendered  "  Plant " 
in  the  same  sense  in  which  we  have  the  word  "Branch"  (Zech.  3: 
8,  and  6 :  12) — a  special  name  for  the  Messiah.  It  is  doubtful 
whether  the  original  can  bear  this  sense.  The  context  does  not 
favor  it.  The  word  means  Oi  plantation.  It  occurs  Ezek.  17:  7,  and 
Isa.  61 :  3  and  60:  21,  but  in  none  of  these  cases,  in  the  sense^of  a 
plant.  The  word  rendered  "raise  up"  readily  bears  the  sense  of 
establish :  made  firm  and  strong.  The  reference  is  probably  to  the 
Garden  of  Eden.     It  promises  that  the  Zion  of  the  Lord  shall  be  a 

second  Eden  in  beauty,  fertility,  and  glory. The  idea  of  renoAvn, 

a  good  name,  stands  opposed  to  "the  shame  of  the  heathen"  which 
they  shall  bear  no  more.  They  shall  be  no  more  reproached  as  a 
broken  dov^Ti  nationality,  nor  shall  the  name  of  the  Lord  be  any 
more  blasphemed  on  their  account.  The  fertility  of  this  plantation 
will  sustain  a  great  people  and  a  strong  nation;  its  splendor  and 
beauty  will  lift  them  high  above  the  reproach  of  the  heathen. 

30.  Thus  shall  they  know  that  I  the  Lord  their  God  am 
with  them,  and  that  they,  even  the  house  of  Israel,  are  my 
people,  saitli  the  Lord  God. 

31.  And  ye  my  flock,  the  flock  of  my  pasture,  are  men, 
and  I  am  your  God,  saith  the  Lord  God. 


196  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXXV. 

This  done,  they  will  know  that  their  own  God  is  a  glorious  Pres- 
ence among  them,  and  that  they  themselves  are  the  recognized  peo- 
ple of  the  Lord  Jehovah.  They  will  experience  the  blessedness  of 
being  truly  his  flock,  walking  themselves  in  trustful  obedience  and 
love,  and  evermore  owned  and  protected  of  God,  their  Great  Shep- 
herd and  King.  Blessed  state !  Let  it  be  our  joy  that  such  a 
future  for  the  Zion  of  our  God  stands  fixed  in  his  changeless  coun- 
sels, never  to  be  forgotten,  but  to  be  amply  fulfilled  in  his  own  time ! 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 


This  chapter  records  a  prophecy  of  judgments  on  Mt,  Seir  and 
the  people  of  Edom.  Of  all  the  contiguous  nations  none  seem  to 
have  cherished  more  intense  and  inveterate  hatred  against  Israel 
than  Edom.  Hence  the  prophecy  against  her,  put  in  brief  terms 
before  (chap.  25 :  12-14)  is  resumed  and  amplified  here,  manifestly 
in  part  for  the  interesting  purpose  of  bringing  into  connection  with 
it  the  greater  mercies  which  God  had  in  store  for  his  own  Israel. 
The  next  chapter  (36)  develops  the  nature  and  the  force  of  this 
connection,  showing  how  the  jealousy  of  the  Lord  was  enkindled 
against  the  ancient  enemies  of  his  people,  and  how  his  soul  was 
aroused .  to  great  achievements  in  their  behalf  out  of  regard  for 
the  glory  of  his  name  which  Zion's  enemies  had  blasphemed. 

1.  Moreover  the  word  of  the  Lord  came  unto  me,  saying, 

2.  Son  of  man,  set  thy  face  against  mount  Seir,  and 
prophesy  against  it, 

3.  And  say  unto  it.  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God;  Behold, 
O  mount  Seir,  I  am  against  thee,  and  I  will  stretch  out 
my  hand  against  thee,  and  I  will  make  thee  most  deso- 
late. 

4.  I  will  lay  thy  cities  waste,  and  thou  shalt  be  desolate, 
and  thou  shalt  know  that  I  am  the  Lord. 

The  fearful  word,  "I  am  against  thee,"  forewarns  her  of  the 
direst  possible  doom,  for  what  doom  can  be  more  terrible  than  to 
have  God  for  one's  enemy  and  his  infinite  resources  committed  to 
scourge  and  destroy ! 

5.  Because  thou  hast  had  a  perpetual  hatred,  and  hast 
shed  the  blood  of  the  children  of  Israel  by  the  force  of  the 
sword  in  the  time  of  their  calamity,  in  the  time  that  their 
iniquity  had  an  end  : 

6.  Therefore,  as  I  live,  saith  the  Lord  God,  I  will  pre- 
pare thee  unto  blood,  and  blood  shall  pursue  thee :  since 
thou  hast  not  hated  blood,  even  blood  shall  pursue  thee. 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXXV.  197 

The  personal  ill-feeling  of  Esau  toward  his  brother  Jacob  seems 
to  have  become  the  inheritance  of  his  posterity  age  after  age  with 

scarce  any  perceptible  abatement. The  second  clause  of  v.  5, 

in  w^hich  the  received  translation  supplies  the  word  ''^fooof"  would 
be  more  close  to  the  original,  if  rendered  thus;  "And  because  thou 
didst  deliver  the  children  of  Israel  over  to  the  force  of  the  sword 
in  the  time  of  their  calamity."  It  refers  to  the  day  wdien  the  Chal- 
deans broke  up  their  city,  and  the  people  fled  for  their  lives.  Oba- 
diah  (vs.  10-15)  implies  that  in  this  day  of  chief  calamity  upon 
the  Jews,  Edom  was  bitter  and  revengeful  as  even  the  proud  Chal- 
deans; looked  exultingly  upon  the  fall  of  his  brother  as  of  an  old 
enemy;  "spake  of  them  proudly  in  the  day  of  their  distress;" 
"entered  into  their  gates  in  that  day  of  their  calamity"  for  pillage 
and  exultant  joy;  "stood  in  the  crossways  to  cut  off  those  that 
were  escaping,"  and  "delivered  them  up"  to  their  Chaldean  foes. 
To  this  great,  damning  sin  the  last  clause  refers  as  "  the  end- 
sin'' — that  crowning  iniquity  which  God  could  bear  no  longer,  but 
must  punish  with  exemplary  severity — the  last  sin  in  the  series, 
and  lying  next  beyond  all  those  which  God  could  bear  in  the  sense 
of  long-suffering  delay  to  punish.  This  one  he  could  not  ^'•beary 
The  received  translation  does  not  give  the  true  sense  quite  accu- 
rately. It  is  not  that  iniquity  then  had  an  end,  but  that  they  had 
reached  the  time  of  their  end-sin — next  beyond  the  last  wdiich  God 

could  allow  them  to  commit,  and  yet  delay  its  punishment. In 

V.  6  "I  will  prepare  thee  unto  blood,"  is  better  read;  "I  will  ap- 
point or  destine  thee  for  blood."  Edom  had  not  been  averse  to 
blood  in  the  day  of  his  brother's  calamity :  now  let  him  have  his 
fill  of  it.  Let  it  pursue  him,  even  as  his  greedy  sword  thirsted  for 
the  blood  of  his  Jewish  brother,  and  chased  him  down  to  drink  it ! 

7.  Thus  will  I  make  mount  Seir  most  desolate,  and  cut 
off  from  it  him  that  passeth  out  and  him  that  returneth. 

8.  And  I  will  fill  his  mountains  with  his  slain  men:  in 
thy  hills,  and  in  thy  valleys,  and  in  all  thy  rivers,  shall 
they  fall  that  are  slain  with  the  s^vord. 

9.  I  Avill  make  thee  perpetual  desolations,  and  thy  cities 
shall  not  return :  and  ye  shall  know  that  I  am  the  Lord. 

"Him  that  passeth  out  and  him  that  returneth,"  is  the  usual 
Hebrew  phrase  for  the  travel  incident  to  traffic  in  those  ages. 
This  prophecy  is  the  more  noticeable  because  Edom,  and  its  great 
capital,  Petra,  had  been  for  ages  the  great  thoroughfare  of  com- 
mercial travel  between  Central  and  Southern  Asia  on  the  East,  and 
Egypt  and  North  Africa  on  the  South-west.  Her  capital  had 
amassed  great  wealth  and  had  risen  to  splendor  by  means  of  trade 
and  travel;  yet  under  the  curse  denounced  in  this  prophecy,  no 
spot  on  this  wide  earth  ever  trod  by  human  foot  is  less  frequented 
to-day  than  this  same  Petra!  Desolation  has  made  her  deepest 
imprints  of  ruin  there.  The  sparse  Aral)  population  that  assume 
to  control  the  country  is  of  the  most  savage,  ferocious  character, 


198  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXXV. 

so  that  only  a  very  few  travelers  are  willing  to  confront  at  once 
the  utter  desolation  of  the  land  and  the  savage  barbarity  of  the 
people  for  the  sake  of  exploring  those  truly  grand  and  magnificent 
ruins. 

10.  Because  thou  hast  said,  These  two  nations  and  these 
two  countries  shall  be  mine,  and  we  will  possess  it ;  whereas 
the  Lord  was  there : 

11.  Therefore,  as  I  live,  saith  the  Lord  God,  I  will  even 
do  according  to  thine  anger,  and  according  to  thine  envy 
which  thou  hast  used  out  of  thy  hatred  against  them ;  and 
I  will  make  myself  known  among  them,  when  I  have 
judged  thee. 

12.  And  thou  shalt  know  that  I  am  the  Lord,  and  that  I 
have  heard  all  thy  blasphemies  which  thou  hast  spoken 
against  the  mountains  of  Israel,  saying,  They  are  laid  des- 
olate, and  they  are  given  us  to  consume. 

13.  Thus  with  your  mouth  ye  have  boasted  against  me, 
and  have  multiplied  your  words  against  me :  I  have  heard 
them. 

"Two  nations  and  countries;"  Judah  and  Israel.  "When  these 
were  successively  smitten  in  war,  and  the  people  taken  into  cap- 
tivity, Edom  gloated  in  the  selfish  confidence  of  having  those  coun- 
tries as  her  own.  Ah,  she  did  not  take  into  her  view  that  God  loas 
there  I    Therefore  God  will  visit  upon  Edom  according  to  her  hatred 

and  anger   against   his  people. "I   will   make    myself  known 

amoni;  them  "  (my  ancient  people)  "  when  I  shall  have  judged  thee  " 
(Edom). 

14.  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God;  When  the  whole  earth 
rejoiceth,  I  will  make  thee  desolate. 

15.  As  thou  didst  rejoice  at  the  inheritance  of  the  house 
of  Israel,  because  it  was  desolate,  so  will  I  do  unto  thee: 
thou  shalt  be  desolate,  O  mount  Seir,  and  all  Idumea, 
even  all  of  it :  and  they  shall  know  that  I  am  the  Lord. 

It  would  be  a  double  calamity  on  Edom  to  be  made  desolate 
precisely  when  the  whole  earth  should  be  joyful  in  its  prosperity. 
The  primary  reference  here  is  probably  to  the  period  when  the 
Chaldean  supremacy  in  Western  Asia  should  be  broken,  and  many 
of  those  nations  whom  they   had   subjugated  should  regain   their 

former  prosperity.     Then  Edom  should  be  an  exception. A  still 

further  installment  of  the  same  doom  came  on  Edom  near  the  Chris- 
tian Era — a  time  of  general  prosperity  to  the  nations  of  that  region, 

but  of  almost  utter  national  extinction  to  Edom. Because  she 

had  rejoiced  with  proud  and  selfish  exultation  over  the  captivity  of 
the  house  of  Israel,  God  would  lay  her  desolate.      Such  national 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXXVI.  199 

Bins  demand  of  the  Great  Ruler  of  nations  condign  and  exemplary 
punishment.  The  nations  of  men  must  be  made  to  know  that  Je- 
hovah is  Ruler  and  Lord  of  all,  evermore  administering  his  rule 
over  nations  with  a  just  and  righteous  retribution. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 


The  central  idea  of  this  chapter  is  that  God's  people  having 
brought  reproach  on  his  name  before  the  heathen,  he  will  retrieve 
it  from  this  disgrace.  For  the  sake  of  his  own  glory  he  will  restore 
his  people  to  their  land,  renew  the  fertility  of  its  soil,  rebuild  its 
long-time  wasted  cities,  and  (more  and  better  than  all)  will  renew 
the  hearts  of  his  people,  taking  away  the  stone  and  giving  flesh 
instead;  "putting  his  own  Spirit  within  them,    and   causing  them 

henceforth  to   walk  in  his  statutes  and  do  them." Yet  lying 

back  of  this  idea  of  interposing  to  retrieve  his  name  from  reproach 
before  the  heathen  is  doubtless  the  more  fundamental  one — the 
divine  purpose  and  promise  of  salvation  to  his  p)eople ; — that  in  his  own 
eternal  counsels  he  had  purposed  to  have  a  people  saved  unto  holi- 
ness, and  therefore  could  not  and  would  not  be  frustrated  in  his  pur- 
pose by  their  waywardness  and  sin,  but  would  press  the  agencies  of 
discipline  and  the  yet  mightier  agencies  of  his  Spirit  to  rechiim,  re- 
new, and  save.  Thus  he  would  show  his  people  that  he  is  really  the 
very  God,  ever  faithful  to  his  promise,  ever  abiding  in  his  love  for 

his  people. The  honor  of  the  divine  name  before  the  heathen  is 

fully  seen  only  when  we  take  into  view  the  current  sentiment  of 
all  heathen  nations  respecting  their  national  divinities,  viz.,  that 
those  divinities  were  essentially  the  patrons  and  protectors  of  the 
people  who  accepted  and  worshiped  them  in  that  capacity.  Now, 
it  was  well  known  among  them  that  Israel  claimed  to  be  the  people 
of  Jehovah,  the  Lord  God  of  Hosts.  He  was  known  as  the  God  of 
Israel.  Hence  when  their  nationality  was  broken  down,  their  king 
slain  or  taken  captive,  their  great  city  and  the  Lord's  temple  de- 
stroyed, and  the  people  who  survived  were  all  in  exile,  the  heathen 
would  say  that  either  their  God  was  unfaithful  to  liis  promises  and 
therefore  untruthful  and  unreliable ;  or  was  short  of  power  to  save 
and  therefore  unfit  to  be  trusted  as  the  patron  God  of  any  nation. 
It  is  in  this  point  of  view  that  God's  jealousy  for  his  holy  name 
becomes  so  prominent  as  a  reason  or  occasion  for  his  interposition 

to  restore  and  save  his  people. Remarkably  in  the  first  portion 

of  this  chapter,  (vs.  1-15)  the  Lord  addresses  "  the  mountains  of 
Israel;"  while  in  the  second  portion,  (vs.  16-38)  he  addresses  the 
prophet,  yet  announcing  great  truths  especially  for  the  people  then 
m  exile,  but  richly  applicable  to  God's  people  in  all  ages. 

1.  Also,  thou  son  of  man,  prophesy  unto  the  mountains 


200  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXXVI. 

of  Israel,  and  say,  Ye  mountains  of  Israel,  hear  the  word 
of  the  Lord  : 

2.  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God ;  Because  tlie  enemy  hath 
said  against  you,  Aha,  even  the  ancient  high  places  are  ours 
in  possession : 

3.  Therefore  prophesy  and  say,  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God ; 
Because  they  have  made  you  desolate,  and  swallowed  you 
up  on  every  side,  that  ye  might  be  a  possession  unto  the 
residue  of  the  heathen,  and  ye  are  taken  up  in  the  lips  of 
talkers,  and  are  an  infamy  of  the  people : 

4.  Therefore,  ye  mountains  of  Israel,  hear  the  word  of  the 
Lord  God ;  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God  to  the  mountains,  and 
to  the  hills,  to  the  rivers,  and  to  the  valleys,  to  the  desolate 
wastes,  and  to  the  cities  that  are  forsaken,  which  became  a 
prey  and  derision  to  the  residue  of  the  heathen  that  are 
round  about ; 

5.  Therefore  thus  saith  the  Lord  God ;  Surely  in  the  fire 
of  my  jealousy  have  I  spoken  against  the  residue  of  the 
heathen,  and  against  all  Idumea,  which  have  appointed  my 
land  into  their  possession  with  the  joy  of  all  their  heart,  with 
despiteful  minds  to  cast  it  out  for  a  prey. 

The  reader  will  notice  the  bold  personification  by  which  this 
prophecy  addresses  "the  mountains  of  Israel."  The  very  land  it- 
self is  thought  of  as  intelligent  and  conscious,  sensible  of  the  re- 
proach under  which  it  has  lain,  and  sympathizing  with  the  grief 
and  shame  under  which  its  exiled  population  are  now  suflering. 

In  the  previous  chapter  (vs.  10,  12,  15)  we  saw  that  the  Edom- 

ites  had  fixed  their  covetous  eyes  on  Palestine,  hoping  to  secure  it 
to  themselves  for  a  permanent  possession.  This  thought  leads  the 
course  of  remark  here.  Edom  "  is  the  enemy  who  has  said  against 
you,"  ye  mountains,  "  Aha !  even  those  ancient  high  places  are  ours 

in  possession." In  v.  3  the  relation  of  cause  or  occasion  is  made 

emphatic  in  the  original  by  repetition;  "Because,  3'ca  because  they 

have   made  you   desolate,'    etc. V.   5  shows   that  while  other 

heathen  nations  were   implicated,  Idumea  (Edom)  is  prominent. 

"Appointed  my  land  into  their  |x»ssession,"  is  in  l[el)rew,  given 

or  assigned  my  land  to  themselves  for  a  }X)ssession' — "with  the  joy 
of  their  whole  heart  and  with  soul-pantings;"  a.  e.,  with  a  most 
eager  desire,  longing  to  clutch  it  as  their  prey.     "  Despiteful  mind," 

does  not  exactly  express  the  original. "To  cast  it  out,"  should 

rather  be,  to  spoil  it  as  their  prey;  to  pillaiie  it  at  their  pleasure. 

6.  Prophesy  therefore  concerning  the  land  of  Israel,  and 
say  unto  the  mountains,  and  to  the  hills,  to  the  rivers,  and 
to  the  valleys.  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God  ;  Behold,  I  have 
spoken  in  my  jealousy  and  in  my  fury,  because  ye  have 
borne  the  shame  of  the  heathen  : 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXXVI.  201 

7.  Therefore  thus  saith  the  Lord  God ;  I  have  lifted  up 
my  hand:  surely  the  heathen  that  are  about  you,  they 
shall  bear  their  shame. 

8.  But  ye,  O  mountains  of  Israel,  ye  shall  shoot  forth 
your  branches,  and  yield  your  fruit  to  my  people  of  Israel ; 
for  they  are  at  hand  to  come. 

9.  For  behold,  I  am  for  you,  and  I  will  turn  unto  you, 
and  ye  shall  be  tilled  and  sown  : 

10.  And  I  will  multiply  men  upon  you,  all  the  house  of 
Israel,  even  all  of  it :  and  the  cities  shall  be  inhabited,  and 
the  w^astes  shall  be  builded  : 

11.  And  I  will  multiply  upon  you  man  and  beast :  and 
they  shall  increase  and  bring  fruit :  and  I  will  settle  you 
after  your  old  estates,  and  will  do  better  unto  you  than  at 
your  beginnings :  and  ye  shall  know  that  I  am  the  Lord. 

Ye  mountains  and  hills  that  have  borne  shame  from  the  heathen, 
shall  bear  it  no  lon2;er.  The  heathen  shall  bear  their  own  shame ; 
i.  e.,  shall  themselves  be  ashamed  and  confounded  before  the  mighty 
God  of  Israel.  Ye  mountains  shall  again  become  productive,  bear- 
ing fruit  for  my  people  Israel,  for  they  are   coming  back  soon; 

("they  are  at  hand  to  come.") In  v.  11  "settle  you  after  your 

old  estates"  does  not  mean  that  the  family  estates  should  return  to 
the  heirs  of  their  former  owners,  but  only  in  general;  "I  will  cause 
you,  ye  mountains,  to  be  inhabited  as  of  old  and  I  will  do  you  good 

more  than  in  your  beginning" — first  settlement. "And  ye  shall 

know  that  I  am  the  Lord,"  still  keeps  up  the  conception  of  con- 
scious intelligence  in  these  mountains  of  Israel.  They  would  them- 
selves have  the  evidence  that  the  Lord  is  truly  God. 

12.  Yea,  I  will  cause  men  to  walk  upon  you,  eveii  my 
people  Israel;  and  they  shall  possess  thee,  and  thou  shalt 
be  their  inheritance,  and  thou  shalt  no  more  henceforth 
bereave  them  of  men. 

13.  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God;  Because  they  say  unto 
you.  Thou  land  devourest  up  men,  and  hast  bereaved  thy 
nations ; 

14.  Therefore,  thou  shalt  devour  men  no  more,  neither 
bereave  thy  nations  any  more,  saith  the  Lord  God. 

15.  Neither  will  I  cause  men  to  hear  in  thee  the  shame 
of  the  heathen  any  more,  neither  shalt  thou  bear  the  re- 
proach of  the  people  any  more,  neither  shalt  thou  cause 
thy  nations  to  fall  any  more,  saith  the  Lord  God. 

In  the  current  sentiment  of  the  Jewish  people,  no  calamity  to  a 
family  was  so  great  as  being  bereaved  of  children.  They  would 
have  the  same  view  of  a  state,  bereaved  of  its  population.      "  In 


202  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXXVI. 

the  multitude  of  people  is  the  king's  honor;  but  in  the  want  of 
people  is  the  destruction  of  the  prince"  (Prov.  14:  28).  It  seems 
to  be  tacitly  assumed  here  that  the  mountains  and  the  hills,  the 
country  itself,  might  inflict  this  calamity,  i.  e.,  might  itself  bereave 
the  state  of  its  sons  and  daughters — might  eat  up  its  own  popula- 
tion.   But  God  promises  that  the  mountains  of  Israel  shall  no  more 

bereave  the  state  of  its  loved  people. In  these  four  verses,  two 

verbs  are  used  for  this  leading  idea,  viz.,  the  common  word  for  be- 
ing bereaved  of  children  and  another  with  the  same  radicals,  yet 
with  the  first  two  transposed,  meaning  in  the  form  here  used,  to 
cause  to  fall.  This  is  so  rendered  in  the  last  clause  of  v.  15.  This 
play  upon  these  two  words  is  one  of  the  nicer  beauties  of  style. 
The  general  thought  is  that  the  land  will  be  depopulated  no  more. 

But  the  real  fulfillment  of  this  promise  appears   only  in  its 

spiritual  significance  as  relating  to  the  true  Zion  of  the  living  God. 
For  Palestine  has  long  been  forsaken  of  the  seed  of  Abraham  and 
has  long  since  ceased  to  be  the  local  home  of  the  organized  people, 
worship,  and  institutions  of  God.  But  God's  true  Zion  lives;  has 
not  been  depopulated,  but  has  been  exceedingly  multiplied  even 
already,  and  doubtless  is  yet  to  be  far  more.  Compare  Isa.  54: 
1-8. 

16.  Moreover,  the  word  of  the  Lord  came  unto  me,  say- 

17.  Son  of  man,  Avlien  the  house  of  Israel  dwelt  in  their 
own  land,  they  defiled  it  by  their  own  way. and  by  their 
doings:  their  way  was  before  me  as  the  uncleanness  of  a 
removed  woman. 

18.  Wherefore,  I  poured  my  fury  upon  tliem  for  the 
blood  that  they  had  shed  upon  the  land,  and  for  their  idols 
wherewith  they  had  polluted  it: 

19.  And  I  scattered  them  among  the  heathen,  and  they 
were  dispersed  through  the  countries:  according  to  their 
way  and  according  to  their  doings  I  judged  them. 

Here  the  Lord  addresses  the  prophet,  and  through  him  his  own 

people. By  the  worship  of  idols  and  by  all  the  abominations  of 

murder  and  lust  and  of  dishonor  cast  on  God  which  are  involved 
in  such  idolatry,  the  people  had  utterly  defiled  their  own  land. 
Therefore  the  Lord  poure(l  out  his  fury  upon  them,  scattered  them 
among  the  heathen,  and  judged  them  thoroughly  according  to  their 
ways. 

20.  And  when  they  entered  unto  the  heathen,  whither 
they  went,  they  profaned  my  holy  name,  when  they  said  to 
them.  These  are  the  people  of  the  Lord,  and  are  gone  forth 
out  of  his  land. 

21.  But  I  had  pity  for  mine  holy  name,  which  the  house 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXXVI.  203 

of  Israel  had  profaned  among  the  heathen,  whither  they 
went. 

The  remarks  introductory  to  this  chapter  will  show  the  signifi- 
cance of  these  ideas  of  profaning  God's  name  before  the  heathen. 
It  was  currently  said  among  them,  "These  are  the  people  of  Je- 
hovah, God  of  Israel,  and  they  are  set  adrift,  borne  away  captive 
from  his  land.  What  can  this  signify?  Either  that  God  is  weak 
or  is  untrue.  So  in  either  case  their  conclusion  was  reproachful 
to  the  God  of  Israel.  Therefore  the  Lord  had  pity  for  his  holy 
name's  sake.  It  would  be  only  disastrous  to  his  reputation  before 
the  world  to  leave  such  inferences  to  be  dravna  and  to  stand  with- 
out refutation. Cases  illustrating  the  same  holy  and  jealous  re- 
gard for  his  own  great  name  may  be  seen  in  the  early  history  of 
the  nation,  Exod.  32 — tlie  sin  of  the  golden  calf— and  in  Num.  14, — 
the  sin  of  unbelief;  and  in  Deut.  9 — a  sort  of  resume  of  these  cases. 

22.  Therefore,  say  unto  the  house  of  Israel,  Thus  saith 
the  Lord  God;  I  do  not  this  for  your  sakes,  O  house  of 
Israel,  but  for  my  holy  name's  sake,  which  ye  have  pro- 
faned among  the  heathen,  whither  ye  went. 

23.  And  I  will  sanctify  my  great  name,  which  was  pro- 
faned among  the  heathen,  which  ye  have  profaned  in  the 
midst  of  them;  and  the  heathen  shall  know  that  I  am  the 
Lord,  saith  the  Lord  God,  when  I  shall  be  sanctified  in 
you  before  their  eyes. 

It  was  \atal  to  the  best  moral  impression  upon  the  people  that 
they  should  see  that  this  interposition  of  God  to  deliver  them  from 
their  captivity  and  restore  them  to  their  land  was  not  done  for  their 
sake — had  none  of  its  causes  or  grounds  in  their  goodness  or  merits; 
but  was  done  entirely  for  his  OAvn  holy  name's  sake,  to  redeem  his 
character  and  throne  from  dishonor  before  the  nations.  These 
statements  uniformly  rest  the  case  here,  although  (as  suggested 
above)  we  may  well  go  deeper,  even  to  the  eternal  love  of  God  for 
lost  men  and  to  his  glorious  purpose  of  redeeming  a  people  unto 
himself.  It  was  for  tlie  sake  of  these  highest  ends  that  he  deemed 
it  so  important  to  retrieve  his  name  before  the  heathen,  for  his  great 
thoughts  of  salvation  embraced  the  gathermg  yet  of  myriads  from 
among  the  heathen  to  fear,  love,  and  adore  their  own  Maker  and 

Father. "When  I  shall  be  sanctified  in  yni  before  rheir  eyes," 

develops  the  morally  vital  idea  that  God's  glory  before  tiie  heathen 
turns  on  the  holiness  of  his  people.  When  he  shall  have  made 
them  radically  holy  in  heart,  then  the  nations  will  sec  in  them  an 
illustration  of  w^at  holiness  is  in  God.  God  will  stand  forth  before 
the  heathen  as  the  Holy  One,  his  holiness  being  illustrated  and  re- 
flected in  the  holiness  of  his  people. 

24.  For  I  will  take  you  from  among  the  heathen,  and 


204  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXXVI. 

gather  you  out  of  all  countries,  and  will  bring  you  into 
your  own  land. 

Then  and  there,  under  those  circumstances,  the  honor  of  God 
demanded  that  his  people  should  be  brought  back  to  their  own 
land  of  covenant  promise.  Hence  a  literal  restoration  was  then  a 
necessity.  Consequently  the  Lord  met  this  necessity  by  causing 
them  to  return  literally  and  rebuild  the  temple  and  restore  the  in- 
stitutions of  Moses. But  this  by  no  means  implies  that  the  same 

sort  of  restoration  must  be  reenacted,  either  now  or  at  any  time  yet 
future.  The  necessity  of  a  literal  return  ceased  when  the  people 
had  once  been  literally  restored.  Besides,  if  a  literal  restoration 
were  to  take  place  at  any  point  during  the  Christian  age  in  order 
to  fulfill  the  legitimate  sense  of  this  and  subsequent  prophecies  of 
Ezekiel,  then  certainly  Judaism  must  be  restored  as  xoell.  The 
Christian  system  must  give  way  and  disappear,  and  the  Mosaic 

system  take  its  place. But  this  whole  subject  will  be  resumed 

and  fully  discussed  when  we  come  to  the  closing  chapters  (40-48). 

25.  Then  will  I  sprinkle  clean  water  upon  you,  and  ye 
shall  be  clean:  from  all  your  filthiness,  and  from  all  your 
idols,  will  I  cleanse  you. 

The  conception  of  cleansing  by  sprinkling  clean  water  comes 
from  the  Mosaic  ceremonial  system.  See  especially  Num.  19: 
17-19,  and  also  Ps.  51 :  9.  The  former  passage — the  case  of  a  man 
rendered  unclean  by  contact  with  a  dead  body — is  forcibly  trans- 
lated by  Hengstenberg,  thus: — "And  they  take  for  the  unclean 
from  the  ashes  of  the  burnt  sin-offering  and  put  thereon  living  water 
in  a  vessel,  and  they  take  h^'ssop,  and  a  clean  man  dips  it  in  the 
water,  sprinkles  the  tent  and  all  the  vessels  and  the  souls  which  are 
there,  and  the  clean  sprinkles  it  upon  the  unclean  and  sanctifies 

him." In  every  age   and   among  all  nations,  water  is  both  the 

prime  agent  for  cleansing,  and  the  fii'st  and  main  symbol  to  denote 
it.  Hence  it  is  used  here  with  equal  beauty,  fitness,  and  force  of 
tlie  moral  cleansing  which  the  Lord  was  to  effect  in  the  hearts  of 
his  people.  As  looking  to  the  case  (then  present)  of  the  Jewish 
exiles  in  Chaldea,  to  be  restored  to  Canaan,  it  makes  prominent 
the  filthiness  and  abominations  of  idolatry.  From  these  the  Lord 
■would  effectually  cleanse  them.  This  became  a  great  historic  fact. 
The  nation  as  such  were  cured  of  idolatry,  at  least  during  several 

generations. But  this  promise  is  good  against  all  the  filthiness 

and  all  the  aboiuinations  of  human  hearts.  The  gracious  promise 
of  the  Lord  covers  all.  And  there  is  a  wealth  of  blessedness  in 
this  })road,  magnificent  promise !  By  what  power  performed  and 
how  applied,  the  Lord  proceeds  to  show.  ^ 

26.  A  new  heart  also  will  I  give  you,  and  a  new  spirit 
will  I  put  within  you:  and  I  will  take  away  the  stony  heart 
out  of  your  flesh,  and  I  will  give  you  a  heart  of  flesh. 

27.  And  I  will  put  my  Spirit  within  you,  and  cause  you 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXXVI.  205 

to  walk  in  my  statutes,  and  ye  shall  keep  my  judgments, 
and  do  them. 

Compare  chap.  11 :  17-20,  where  in  briefer  statements,  the  same 

general  ideas  appear. The  "heart"  and  the  "spirit"  represent 

what  is  most  radical  in  human  character — what  is  farthest  removed 
from  hypocrisy  or  from  the  merely  external  life.  Comprehensively 
they  embody  man's  deepest  purposes  and  intentions — the  governing 
will  that  animates  his  whole  activities,  and  morally  constitutes  the 
man.  To  make  these  wholly  new  is  to  breathe  into  the  soul  of  man 
a  new  moral  life.  It  changes  the  great  drift  and  aim  of  his  en- 
deavors; gives  him  a  new  object  to  live  for;  inspires  his  soul  with 
new  motives,  and  brings  him  under  new  influences.  It  is  made 
prominent  here  that  this  change  is  wrought  by  the  Spirit  of  God; 
"  I  will  put  my  Spirit  within  you,  and  (so)  will  cause  you  to  walk 
in  my  statutes,"  etc.     God  himself  becomes  a  controlling  power  in 

the  hearts  of  men  unto  a  holy  life. This  is  the  great  doctrine  of 

the  New  Testament,  taught  forcibly  by  our  Lord  himself  in  his  state- 
ments respecting  the  new  birth  (Jn.  3 :  3-8),  and  every-where  pre- 
sented as  preeminently  the  work  of  the  Spirit  of  God. The  heart 

of  stone,  contrasted  with  the  heart  of  flesh,  is  forcible  imagery,  yet 
wonderfully  true  to  human  consciousness.  Its  significance  applies 
appositely  to  the  sensibilities — cold  and  dead,  apart  from  the  living, 
quickening  power  of  God  in  the  soul — but  tender,  flowing  and  free 
when  the  Spirit  touches  the  soul  and  even  makes  his  abode  there. 
And  yet  we  must  not  restrict  the  Spirit's  work  to  the  sensibilities. 
The  intellect  also — the  mind's  apprehension  of  divine  truth — is  by 
no  means  unaffected  in  this  great  change  from  stone  to  flesh.  The 
dullness  of  apprehension,  the  resistance  to  truth,  which  appears 
where  God  is  not  in  the  heart,  may  fitly  be  called  "^^ony/"  while 
the  sharpened  thought,  the  quick  apprehension,  and  the  genial  wel- 
come of  truth,  attach  the  qualities  of  living  flesh  even  to  the  intel- 
lect,  Yet  these  terms  were  never  intended  to  be  acutely  meta- 
physical.     They  address   the  popular   mind.      Considered    as   so 

addressed,  they  are  exceedingly  forcible  and  happy. 1  can  not 

forbear  to  add  that  they  reveal  a  most  blessed,  glorious  truth,  viz., 
that  God  himself  becomes  an  effective  power  in  the  souls  of  men  unto 
real  holiness.  While  all  merely  external  agencies  forever  fail,  this 
divine  agency  is  forever  efiicacious.  It  does  for  man  the  very  thing 
he  needs.  His  own  unaided  endeavors,  his  firmest  resolutions, 
prove  unavailing.  Under  his  bitter  experience  of  their  failure,  this 
promise  comes  to  his  soul  as  the  dawn  of  day  upon  the  thickest 
darkness.  When  God  says,  "  I  will  put  my  Spirit  within  you  and 
will  cause  you  to  walk  in  my  statutes,"  his  heart  responds.  That 
meets  my  soul's  great  want.  It  is  enough.  If  God  will  grant  me 
that  efi'ective  spiritual  aid  under  which  I  shall  wholly  obey  and 
please  him,  I  can  ask  nothing  better  ;  I  aspire  to  nothing  higher  and 

nobler. As  already  suggested,  this  is  the  go.spcl.     These  are  the 

provisions  of  gospel  grace  for  the  regeneration  and  sanctification  of 
unholy  men.     They  lire  large  promises.     Nothing  larger,  broader. 


206  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXXVI. 

or  richer,  appears  in  the  whole  New  Testament.  In  their  compre- 
hensive reach  and  scope  they  must  be  taken  to  embrace  the  gospel 
scheme  and  the  gospel  age.  Hence  we  can  not  think  of  their  fulfill- 
ment as  being  exhausted  in  the  time  of  Zerubbabel,  or  at  any  period 
anterior  to  the  coming  of  Christ.  In  fact,  since  our  Lord  represents 
the  Spirit  as  coming  with  preeminent  fullness  only  after  his  own 
ascension,  we  must  assign  the  more  ample  fulfillment  of  this  great 
promise  to  the  Christian  age.  No  doubt  its  richest  and  most  glori- 
ous fulfillment  is  reserved  for  the  latter  days  of  even  this  Christian 
age — the  era  when  "  all  shall  know  the  Lord  from  the  least  to  the 
greatest."     See  Jer.  31:  34,  and  Isa.  11:  9. 

28.  And  ye  shall  dwell  in  the  land  that  I  gave  to  your 
fathers ;  and  ye  shall  be  my  j^eople,  and  I  will  be  your 
God. 

That  they  should  "dwell  in  the  land  promised  to  their  fathers," 
applied  specially  to  the  exiles  in  captivity.  The  primary  bearing 
of  these  promises  was  for  them.  What  was  in  the  letter  as  distinct 
from  the  spirit — what  related  to  the  very  land  of  Palestine  in  dis- 
tinction from  what  belongs  to  God's  spiritual  Zion,  we  naturally  and 
fitly  assign  to  the  exiles  to  whom  these  words  were  first  spoken. 

29.  I  "wfll  also  save  you  from  all  your  uncleannesses :  and 
I  will  call  for  the  corn,  and  will  increase  it,  and  lay  no  fam- 
ine upon  you. 

30.  And  I  will  multiply  the  fruit  of  the  tree,  and  the  in- 
crease of  the  field,  that  ye  shall  receive  no  more  reproach 
of  famine  among  the  heathen. 

The  land  would  become  fertile  again,  and  abundant  prosperity 
would  wipe  away  the  scandal  and  reproach  resting  on  the  name 
and  the  land  of  the  Lord  their  God. 

31.  Then  shall  ye  remember  your  own  evil  ways,  and 
your  doings  that  ivere  not  good,  and  shall  loathe  yourselves 
in  your  own  sight  for  your  iniquities,  and  for  your  abomi- 
nations. 

32.  Not  for  your  sakes  do  I  this,  saitli  the  Lord  God,  be 
it  known  unto  you :  be  ashamed  and  confounded  for  your 
own  ways,  O  house  of  Israel. 

The  restored  people  would  indeed  have  most  ample  reason  to  be 
ashamed  and  confounded  as  they  should  think  of  their  moral  abom- 
inations, and  of  the  exceeding  great  compassion  and  loving  kind- 
ness of  the  Lord  their  God.  They  must  see  and  deeply  feel  that 
they  owed  every  thing  to  the  self-moved  interposition  of  their  own 
God  to  save ;  nothing  to  themselves  as  having  wrought  out,  or  in 
any  way  deserved,  their  own  salvation. 

33.  Thus  saitli  the  Lord  God ;   In  the  day  that  I  shall 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXXVI.  207 

have  cleansed  you  from  all  your  iniquities  I  will  also  cause 
you  to  dwell  in  the  cities,  and  the  wastes  shall  be  builded. 

34.  And  the  desolate  land  shall  be  tilled,  whereas  it  lay 
desolate  in  the  sight  of  all  that  passed  by. 

35.  And  they  shall  say,  This  land  that  was  desolate  is 
become  like  the  garden  of  Eden ;  and  the  waste  and  deso- 
late and  ruined  cities  are  become  fenced,  mid  are  inhabited. 

36.  Then  the  heathen  that  are  left  round  about  you  shall 
know  that  I  the  Lord  build  the  ruined  places,  and  plant 
that  that  was  desolate :  I  the  Lord  have  spoken  itj  and  I' 
will  do  it. 

In  these  verses,  the  temporal  side  (so  to  speak)  of  these  promises 
stands  forth  prominently.  They  needed  to  have  a  temporal  side  for 
the  special  encouragement  of  the  exiles  in  Chaldea,  and  perhaps  I 
might  add,  for  the  verification  of  the  promises  themselves.  But  the 
spiritual  side  furnishes  the  richer  installments  and  stands  guaran- 
teed to  us  by  the  fulfillment,  already  past,  of  the*  temporal  part  in 
the  restoration  from  Babylon,  and  in  the  external  prosperity  which 
succeeded  that  great  event. 

37.  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God ;  I  will  yet  for  this  be  in- 
quired of  by  the  house  of  Israel,  to  do  it  for  them ;  I  will 
increase  them  with  men  like  a  flock. 

38.  As  the  holy  flock,  as  the  flock  of  Jerusalem  in  her 
solemn  feasts ;  so  shall  the  waste  cities  be  filled  with  flocks 
of  men :  and  they  shall  know  that  I  am  the  Lord. 

In  the  clause,  "I  will  yet  for  this  be  inquired  of,"  etc.,  the  pre- 
cise force  of  the  word  rendered  "ye^"  becomes  an  important  question. 
Does  it  mean  that  although  I  have  made  this  full  promise,  yet  I  will 
be  inquired  of  in  prayer  before  I  shall  do  it  for  them?  Or  does  it 
mean  that  having  previously  declared  that  I  would  not  be  inquired 
of  by  this  people,  I  now  announce  that  I  will  yet  again  be  inquired 
of — opening  again  the  long-closed  door  for  prevailing  intercession, 

and  inviting  the  people  again  to  seek  their  God  in  prayer? The 

proper  sense  of  the  original  word,  as  well  as  the  historical  facts, 

seem  to  decide  in  favor  of  the  latter  view. The  normal  sense 

of  the  Hebrew  word  is  yet  agaiii,  said  properly  of  that  which  co7nes 

round  a  second  time. Historically,  the  Tact  that  God  had  closed' 

the  door  against  prayer  was  of  immense  significance.  See  chap. 
14:  3,  and  20:  3,  31,  and  Jer.  14:  11,  and  7:  IG,  and  11  :  14.  It 
was  altogether  pertinent  for  the  Lord  to  apprise  the  people  that  the 
day  of  mercy  had  opened  upon  them  once  more  and  that  prayer 

would  be  accepted  yet  again. No  doubt  it  is  fully  implied  in  this 

passage  that  the  people  were  to  pray  for  the  great  blessing  just  now 
promised,  and  none  the  less  because  it  was  promised  so  implicitly. 
This  point  is  one  of  great  moral  significance.  Definite  promise 
should  encourage  prayer  and  never  supersede  it — never  be  held  to 


208  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXXVII. 

relieve  God's  people  from  the  duty,  or  exclude  them  from  the  privi- 
lci!;e.  But  while  this  is  implied  here  as  often  elsewhere,  the  precise 
thino;  affirmed  in  the  text  is  that  the  previous  prohibition  of  prayer 
for  Jerusalem  is  now  removed,  and  God  is  again  accessible  "to  be 

inquired  of  by  the  house  of  Israel." In  the  words  that  follow 

stress  is  laid  upon  the  great  increase  of  population  as  being  the 
central  thing.     It  was  central  among  the  temporal  blessings  here 

promised. The  word    "flock"   comes   from  the  previous  figure 

which  accounts  the  people  as  the  Lord's  sheep  and  himself  as  their 
shepherd.  The  population  would  crowd  the  cities  densely,  as  the 
throng  filled  Jerusalem  in  the  great  national  feasts. 

The  question  will  arise ;  Are  not  the  temporal  blessings  promised 
in  this. passage,  especially  in  vs.  29,  35,  38,  too  great  to  have  received 
their  fulfillment  in  the  time  of  Zerubbabel,  or  indeed  at  any  period 
before  Christ  ?  I  answer,  doubtless  they  are  too  great  to  have  been 
received  both  in  kind  and  in  their  full  measure.  But  we  may  as- 
sume that  in  this  and  in  other  similar  prophecies,  the  distinction 
between  the  temporal  and  the  spiritual  is  not  sharply  drawn;  that 
the  corn,  the  wine'  and  the  oil  as  here  put,  are  (like  Canaan  itself) 
to  some  extent  representative  blessings,  named  rather  as  indications 
of  the  divine  favor  than  as  defining  precisely  ih.Q  form  which  that 
favor  would  assume.  They  may  be  taken  as  pledges  of  good,  put 
in  this  form  in  order  that  the  people  may  appreciate  them  as  a 
great  good ;  and  yet  it  may  not  have  been  the  thought  of  God  to  tie 
himself  down  to  corn  and  wine,  or  even  to  a  dense  "flock  of  men" 
as  filling  out  and  exhausting  the  good  here  promised.  The  general 
import  is ;  You  may  rest  assured  it  is  in  the  heart  of  your  God  to 
do  great  and  glorious  things  for  his  cause  and  people.  If  he  names 
Canaan  and  corn  and  hosts  of  men,  let  it  be  that  he  thereby  conde- 
scends to  an  earthly  condition  of  things  then  present — to  a  style  of 
wants  then  pressing  and  uppermost — ])ut  really  means  not  these 
things  alone,  but  things  far  purer,  higher  and  better.  See  also 
Amos  9:  13-15. 


CHAPTER  XXXVn. 


'l"'he  strain  of  rich  and  glorious  promise  still  continues,  looking 
primarily  to  the  immediate  case  of  the  exiles  to  whom  the  message 
first  came,  but  stretching  its  view  fiir  onward  into  the  great  sub- 
lime future  of  the  Zion  of  the  liord  our  God. As  to  its  figures 

and  symbols,  the  chapter  is  in  two  parts.  The  first  (vs.  1-14)  is  a 
vision  of  dry  bones  brought  back  to  life,  vigor,  and  beauty — to  rep- 
resent the  restored  nationality  of  the  captive,  dispirited  Jews  and 
their  renewed  spiritual  life:  while  the  second  part  (vs.  15-20)  gives 
us  ])y  a  figure  the  enduring  union  of  the  two  kingdoms,  Israel  and 
Juduh.     Then  vs.  21-2S  expand  into  a  rich  promise  of  the  future 

peace  and  purity   of  Messiah's   kingdom. The  first  section   is 

prophetic  vision  and  not  symbolic  transaction  in  real  life.     But  the 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXXVII.  209 

second  section  is  manifestly  a  real  transaction,  of  a  symbolic  char- 
acter. 

1.  The  hand  of  the  Lord  was  upon  me,  and  carried  me 
out  in  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord,  and  set  me  down  in  the 
midst  of  the  valley  w^hicii  was  full  of  bones, 

"The  hand  of  the  Lord  upon  me;"  "bearing  me  out  abroad  in 
the  Spirit  of  the  Lord;  "  "setting  me  down,"  etc.,  all  indicate  most 

conclusively  that  this  is  purely  a  prophetic  vision. "  The  valley," 

with  the  definite  article,  must  refer  to  the  well-known  valley  in 
which  other  prophetic  visions  had  been  located;  e.  g.^  chap.  3  ;  22, 
23,  where  the  Hebrew  word  is  the  same  though  rendered  in  our 

received  version,  "the  plain." This  valley  was  seen  to  be  full 

of  bones. 

2.  And  caused  me  to  pass  by  them  round  about:  and, 
behold,  tliere  ivere  very  many  in  the  open  valley;  and,  lo, 
they  were  very  dry. 

"In  the  open  valley,"  is  in  the  Hebrew  on  the  face  of  the  valley^ 
the  sense  being,  on  the  surface  of  the  ground,  and  not  covered  with 
earth  as  bones  should  be. 

3.  And  he  said  unto  me,  Son  of  man,  can  these  bones 
live?     And  I  answered,  O  Lord  God,  thou  knowest. 

The  prophet's  answer  seems  to  say,  How  can  I  tell?  How  can 
I  understand  the  import  of  this  scene  until  thou  shalt  reveal  it? 

0  Lord,  thou  only  knowest. 

4.  Again  he  said  unto  me.  Prophesy  upon  these  bones, 
and  say  unto  them,  O  ye  dry  bones,  hear  the  Avord  of  the 
Lord. 

5.  Thus  saitli  the  Lord  God  unto  these  bones;  Behold, 

1  will  cause  breath  to  enter  into  you,  and  ye  shall  live. 

6.  And  I  will  lay  sinews  upon  you,  and  will  bring  up 
flesh  upon  you,  and  cover  you  with  skin,  and  put  breath 
in  you,  and  ye  shall  live :  and  ye  shall  know  that  I  am  the 
Lord. 

The  pertinence  of  prophesying  to  dry  bones  becomes  fully  appar- 
ent when  we  get  the  true  idea  of  their  significance  in  this  vision. 
These  dead  and  dry  bones,  according  to  the  Lord's  own  intepreta- 
tion  (v.  11),  "are  the  whole  house  of  Israel,"  as  they  lay  in  their 
TjaiDtivity.  They  were  saying,  "Our  bones  are  dried  and  our  hope 
is  lost;  as  for  us,  we  are  utterly  cut  off,"  i.  e.,  from  being  a  nation; 
we  are  nationally  annihilated.  So  the  hearts  of  the  exiles  had 
sunk  into  despair  of  ever  returning  to  their  native  land  and  becom- 
ing again  a  nation  enjoying  the  favor  of  God  there. Now,  de- 
spondency does  not  preclude  reasoning,  although  real  death  does. 
Despondency  does  not  shut  off  preaching — does  not  make  it  absurd 


210  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXXVII. 

to  proclaim  the  word  of  the  Lord.     These  exiled  Jews  were  dead 
only  in  figure ;  they  were  dry  bones  only  in  the  sense  of  being  ut- 
I  terly  discouraged,  and  of  having  lost  heart  and  hope  in  their  nation's 
j  future.     Preaching  and  prophesying  to  them  the  word  of  the  Lord 
/    was  the  legitimate  remedy.     It  might  perhaps  have  the  aspect  of  an 
'     absurdity  while  they  are  thought  of  only  as  dead  and  dry  bones. 
The  absurdity  comes  of  forcing  the   figure,  not  of  understanding 
the  fact  it  represents. A  special  interpretation  has  been  some- 
times put  upon  this  entire  vision  whereby  these  bones  are  spirit- 
ually dead  sinners,   and  their  resurrection  is  regeneration  by  the 
Spirit  of  the  Lord.     In  this  view  of  it,  the  prophet  (gospel  minis- 
ter) prophesies   (preaches)  to  sinners  void  of  spiritual  life,   only 
because  he  is  commanded  to  do  so,  and  not  because  there  is  any 
natural  adaptation  of  the  means  to  the  end  proposed — their  resus- 
citation to  life. When  this  view  of  the  sinner's  death  is  pushed 

to  the  extreme  of  denying  to  him  intelligence  to  understand  God's 
truth  and  conscience  to  feel  its  force,  the  absurdity  becomes  glar- 

t    ing. Yet  the  thing  to  be  said  here  of  these  views  is  that  what- 

\  ever  may  or  may  not  be  true  in  regard  to  them,  they  are  entirely 
foreign  from  the  doctrine  of  this  vision.  Any  effort  to  make  this 
passage  teach  the  laws  of  regeneration  is  altogether,  gratuitous. 
The  Lord  should  be  alloAved  to  put  his  own  interpretation  upon  the 
visions  which  he  gives.  When  he  has  done  this,  we  have  but  one 
duty;  viz.,  to  abide  by  it,  and  resist  all  abuse  and  perversion  of 
God's  word. 

7.  So  I  prophesied  as  I  was  commanded  :  and  as  I  proj)h- 
esied  there  was  a  noise,  and  behold  a  shaking,  and  the  bones 
came,  together,  bone  to  his  bone. 

8.  And  when  I  beheld,  lo,  the  sinews  and  the  flesh  came 
up  upon  them,  and  the  skin  covered  them  above :  but  there 
was  no  breath  in  them. 

9.  Then  said  he  unto  me.  Prophesy  unto  the  wind,  proph- 
esy, son  of  man,  and  say  to  the  wdnd,  Thus  saith  the  Lord 
God;  Come  from  the  four  winds,  O  breath,  and  breathe 
upon  these  slain,  that  they  may  live. 

10.  So  I  prophesied  as  he  commanded  me,  and  the  breath 
came  into  them,  and  they  lived,  and  stood  up  upon  their 
feet,  an  exceeding  great  army. 

In  V.  9,  the  Hebrew  reader  would  notice  that  the  original  words 
rendered -'iwind "  and  "breath"  are  the  same.  This  fact  lookrTo- 
ward  the  ancient  notion  that  the  living  animal  soul  inheres  in  the 
breath — comes  into  the  body  and  goes  forth  from  the  bodv,  with 
and  in  the  breath.  Virgil's  account  of  the  death  of  Dido  (iEneid 
Bk.  IV)  assumes  this  doctrine. 

11.  Then  he  said  unto  me,  Son  of  man,  these  bones  are 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXXVI.  211 

the  wliole  house  of  Israel :  behold  they  say,  Our  bones  are 
dried,  and  our  hope  is  lost:  we  are  cut  off  for  our  parts. 

12.  Therefore  proj^hesy  and  say  unto  them.  Thus  saith  the 
Lord  God ;  Behold,  O  my  people,  I  will  open  your  graves, 
and  cause  you  to  come  up  out  of  your  graves,  and  bring 
you  into  the  land  of  Israel. 

13.  And  ye  shall  know  that  I  am  the  Lord,  when  I  have 
opened  your  graves,  O  my  people,  and  brought  you  up  out 
of  your  graves, 

14.  And  shall  put  my  Spirit  in  you,  and  ye  shall  live, 
and  T  shall  place  you  in  your  own  land :  then  shall  ye 
know  that  I  the  Lord  have  Spoken  it,  and  performed  it, 
saith  the  Lord. 

We  have  real  occasion  for  gratitude  to  our  divine  Teacher  that 

he  explains  his  visions  whenever  their  significance  might  otherwise 
be  unintelligible  or  even  uncertain.  The  first  concern  of  those  who 
find  dark  or  doubtful  passages  in  the  Word  of  God  should  be,  to 
mark  God's  own  interpretation  of  them  and  regard  that  as  abso- 
lutely decisive ;  discarding  all  speculations  of  their  own  at  variance 

with  God's  explanations. "O  my  people,"  breathes  the  tone  of 

kind,  parental  recognition.  Compare  chap.  13:  17,  where,  as  if 
God  would  disown  them,  he  calls  them,  not  ?wy  people,  but  "  thi/ 
people."  The  change  from  thy  to  my  betokens  the  tenderness  of 
returning  love.  It  indicates  that  deep  spiritual  blessings  are  in- 
volved in  this  promised  revivification  and  restoration  of  their  own 
land. The  reader  will  notice  with  interest  that  this  vision  as- 
sumes the  doctrine  of  a  resurrection  of  the  dead  from  their  graves. 
It  is  based  precisely  on  this  great  idea.  The  figure  is  drawn  from 
the  fact  of  a  resurrection,  and  of  ^urse  assumes  not  merely  that 
the  resurrection  of  the  body  is  a  truth,  yet  to  become  reality,  but 
that  this  doctrine  was  currently  known  by  the  Jews  of  Ezekiel's 
time.  Figures,  legitimately  used,  always  draw  their  analogies  from 
things  known.  Else  they  would  only  make  darkness  yet  more  dark. 
There  is  no  law  of  language  more  rational,  universal,  and  fixed 
than  this ;  that  figures  of  speech  are  legitimate  and  useful  only 
when  drawn  from  things  palpable  and  visible,  or  from  facts  under- 
stood and  believed.  The  thing  we  would  explain  or  set  in  yet 
stronger  light,  we  compare  with  something  better  known  than  itself; 

else  our  figures  and  analogies  avail  nothing. In  the  case  before 

us,  it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  resurrection  is  not  a  doc- 
trine of  nature.  Nature  never  has  taught  it,  and  it  never  can.  It 
comes  to  men  only  through  revelation.  The  Jews  had  this  reve- 
lation ;  else  Ezekiel  in  these  allusions  to  it  would  have  been  as  one 
who  speaks  in  an  unknown  tongue.  Suppose  that,  instead  of  this 
allusion  to  the  resurrection,,  he  had  represented  the  reanimated, 
encouraged  people  as  mounting  upward  and  flying  to  the  moon. 
The  people  would  have  thought  him  insane,  just  because  they  had 
no  faith  in  such  flying. On  the  other  hand,  if  he  had  compared 


212  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXX VII. 

the  attractive  force  of  their  faith  and  love  tov^ard  God,  to  the  law 
of  f]^ravitation,  holding  the  planets  in  their  orhits  round  the  sun,  and 
had  clearly  shown  that  he  regarded  this  influence  of  gravitation  as 
the  same  which  brings  to  the  ground  the  apple  detached  from  its 
bough,  this  illustration  Avould  be  accepted  by  all  as  proof  that  he 
and  his  readers  were  familiar  with  the  law  of  gravitation.  Hence 
this  reference  to  the  resurrection  irresistibly  implies  the  general 

belief  in  that  doctrine  among  the  Jews  at  that  time. A  similar 

use  of  this  figure  appears  in  Isaiah  (chap.  26 :  14,  19),  applied  first 
to  the  godless  nations;  "They  are  dead;  they  shall  not  live;  de- 
ceased ;  they  shall  not  rise :  because  thou  hast  visited  and  destroyed 
them  and  made  all  their  memory  to  perish."  Next  he  applies  it  to 
the  penitent  and  trustful  nation;  "  Thy  dead  shall  live;  being  my 
own  dead  body,  they  shall  arise :  awake  and  sing,  ye  dwellers  in 
dust,  for  thy  dew  is  the  dew  of  herbs  "  (fertilizing  and  life-inspir- 
ing), "  and  on  the  earth,  on  the  dead.  Thou  wilt  cause  it  to  fall." 

Hence  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  was  certainly  current  among 

the  .Tews  in  the  time  of  Isaiah. The  great  point  revealed  to  the 

exiled  Jews  in  this  prophecy  was  that  God  would  burst  the  bars  of 
their  captivity,  and  despite  of  their  present  despondency,  bring 
them  forth,  restore  them  to  their  land,  call  back  to  life  their  appa- 
rently extinct  nationality,  and  bring  their  hearts  back  to  a  living 
trust  and  to  an  earnest  love  toward  the  Lord  their  (lod.  Then  they 
would  know  that  he  is  the  Lord^  the  real  Jehovah,  immutable,  faith- 
ful, never  failing  to  fulfill  his  words  of  promise. 

15.  The  word  of  the  Lord  came  again  unto  me,  say- 
ing. 

16.  Moreover,  thou  son  of  man,  take  thee  one  stick,  and 
write  upon  it,  For  Judah,  and  for  the  children  of  Israel 
his  companions  :  then  take  another  stick,  and  write  upon 
it,  For  Joseph,  the  stick  of  Ephraim,  and  for  all  the  house 
of  Israel  his  companions : 

17.  And  join  them  one  to  another  into  one  stick;  and 
they  shall  become  one  in  thy  hand. 

18.  And  when  the  children  of  thy  people  shall  speak 
unto  thee,  saying,  Wilt  thou  not  shcAV  us  what  thou  mean- 
est by  these? 

19.  Say  unto  them,  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God;  Behold, 
I  will  take  the  stick  of  Josei^Ji,  which  is  in  the  hand  of 
Ephraim,  and  the  tribes  of  Israel  his  fellows,  and  will  put 
them  with  him,  even  with  the  stick  of  Judah,  and  make 
them  one  stick,  and  they  shall  be  one  in  my  hand. 

20.  And  the  sticks  whereon  thou  Avritest  shall  be  in  thy 
hand  before  their  eyes. 

21.  And  say  unto  them,  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God;  Be- 
hold, I  will  take  the  children  of  Israel  from  among  the 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXXVII.  213 

heathen,  whither  they  be  gone,  and  will  gather  them  on 
every  side,  and  bring  them  into  their  own  land : 

22.  And  I  will  make  them  one  nation  in  the  land  upon 
the  mountains  of  Israel;  and  one  king  shall  be  king  to 
them  all;  and  they  shall  be  no  more  two  nations,  neither 
shall  they  be  divided  into  two  kingdoms  any  more  at  all: 

As  said  above,  this  scene  is  a  real  transaction. These  "sticks" 

were  rather  rods  than  tablets,  yet  such  rods  that  a  name  might  be 
written  upon  them.  This  use  of  rods  may  have  a  tacit  reference 
to  the  scenes  described  Num.  17,  where,  twelve  rods  being  taken, 
the  names  of  the  tribes  were  written  severally  upon  them,  and 
Aaron's  rod  alone  budded,  to  show  the  Lord's  choice  of  him  for 

the  priesthood. The  import  of  this  transaction  is  fully  explained 

in  vs.  21,  22,  viz.,  the  perfect  and  enduring  union  of  the  two  king- 
doms, Ephraim  and  Judah,  in  one.    The  revolt  under  Jeroboam  was 
one  of  the  saddest  facts  of  Hebrew  history.     It  occasioned  terrible 
and  destructive  wars;   it  mainly  severed  the  ten  tribes  from  the 
sanctuary  and  from  the  entire  Mosaic  institutions,  and  precipitated 
first  that  northern  kingdom,  and  ultimately  the  southern  as  well, 
into  the  depths  of  a  most  guilty  and  debasing  idolatry.    It  then  led 
on  by  natural  result  and  rapid  step  to  the  national  ruin  of  both 
kingdoms,   and  to  the  captivity  of  the  masses  who  survived  the    r 
shock  under  which  the  nations  fell.      Hence  most  naturally  that    1 
rending  asunder  became  a  symbol  of  the  sorest  calamity;  and  in    i 
like  manner  the  reunion  of  the  two  kingdoms  into  one  became  the     \ 
symbol  of  the  best,  the  largest,  most  enduring  prosperity.     So  the     ^ 
figure  is  to  be  taken  here — not  so  much  a  prediction  of  the  gather- 
ing up   of  the  scattered   ten  tribes,  their  literal  restoration  and 
actual  reunion  with  Judah,  as  a  general  symbol  of  the  greatest 
and  best  prosperity.     History  gives  but  meager  evidence  of  any 
restoration  of  the  ten  tribes  ever,  after  they  were  taken  off  by  the 
Assyrians  into  their  remote  colonies.     There  is  nothing  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  restoration  under  Zerubbabel  to  prove  that  the  ten  tribes 
in  any  appreciable  numbers  were  there.    On  the  contrary  the  show- 
ing is  all  the  other  way.      The  genealogies  in  the  record  (e.  g.) 
prove  that  the  returning  exiles  Avere  of  the  tribe  and  kingdom  of 
Judah.     Hence  we  are  shut  up  to  the  general  in  distinction  from 

the  closely  specific  sense  of  this  prophecy. In  v.  16  the  phrase, 

"his  companions,"  means  his  associates;  in  the  first  case,  "for 
Judah  and  for  the  sons  of  Israel  who  have  been  associated  with 
him,"  i.  e.,  who,  through  their  love  for  the  God  and  the  institutions 
of  their  fathers,  chose  to  cast  in  their  lot  with  Judah:  and  in  the 
second  case,  for  all  out  of  the  various  ten  tribes  who  had  afiiliated 

with   Ephraim  in  her  distinct  nationality. The   "one  kin^  to 

them  all" — the  best  part  of  the  promise — looks  onward  to  tlieir 
great  King  and  Messiah,  as  the  context  clearly,  show's. 

23.  Neither  shall  they  defile  themselves  any  more  with 
their  idols,  nor  with  their  detestable  things,  nor  with  any 


214  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXXVII. 

of  their  transgressions :  but  I  will  save  them  out  of  all 
their  dwelling-places,  wherein  they  have  sinned,  and  will 
cleanse  them:  so  shall  they  be  my  people,  and  I  will  be 
their  God. 

24.  And  David  my  servant  shall  he  king  over  them; 
and  they  all  shall  have  one  shepherd :  they  shall  also  walk 
in  my  judgments,  and  observe  my  statutes,'  and  do  them. 

25.  And  they  shall  dwell  in  tlie  land  that  I  have  given 
unto  Jacob  my  servant,  wherein  your  fathers  have  dwelt, 
and  they  shall  dwell  therein,  even  they,  and  their  children, 
and  their  children's  children  forever :  and  my  servant  David 
sliall  he  their  prince  forever. 

26.  Moreover  I  will  make  a  covenant  of  peace  with 
them ;  it  shall  be  an  everlasting  covenant  with  them :  and 
I  will  place  them,  and  multiply  them,  and  will  set  my 
sanctuary  in  the  midst  of  them  for  evermore. 

27.  My  tabernacle  also  shall  be  with  them :  yea,  I  will 
be  their  God,  and  they  shall  be  my  people. 

28.  And  the  heathen  shall  know  that  I  the  Lord  do 
sanctify  Israel,  when  my  sanctuary  shall  be  in  the  midst 
of  them  for  evermore. 

That  this  passage  is  Messianic,  looking  far  down,  not  only  to  but 
into  the  Gospel  age,  can  admit  of  no  question. "  David  my  serv- 
ant," is  here,  as  in  chap.  34:  23,  24,  and  Jer.  30:  9,  and  Hos.  3:  5, 
the  greater  Son  of  David  to  whom  "the  Lord  God  will  give  the 
throne  of  his  father  David."  So  the  inspired  angel  explained  and 
applied  these  prophecies  in  Luke  1 :  32,  33.  The  designation,  "my 
servant,"  identifies  him  fully  and  beautifully.     Compare  Isa.  42:  1, 

and  49:  3,  G,  and  52:  13,  and  53:  11. The  most  precious  fact 

of  his  reign  is  the  moral  purity  of  his  people  under  his  redeeming, 
sanctifying  power.  They  shall  defile  themselves  no  more  with  their 
idols,  nor  with  any  of  their  transgressions!  Blessed  fruition! 
How  glorious  this  state  of  moral  purity  shall  be  can  be  best  appre- 
ciated by  those  who  have  most  deeply  deplored  their  own  proclivi- 
ties to  sin  and  their  agonizing  relapses  under  the  power  of  tempta- 
tion, and  who  have  most  fervently  and  with  most  irrepressible 
longings   sought  for  a  pure   and  perfect  heart  toward  the  Lord 

their  God. Let  us  not  fail  to  notice  the  forceful  repetition  of 

the  idea  that  God  diuells  among  his  j-ieople  in  these  latter  days. 
"I  will  set  my  sanctuary  in  the  midst  of  them  for  evermore;" 
"my  tabernacle  also  shall  be  with  them;"  "the  heathen  shall 
know  that  I   the   Lord   do   sanctify   Israel   when    my    sanctuary 

shall  be  in  the  midf*t  of  them  for  evermore." Ezekiel  had  seen 

the  visible  glory  of  God  go  up  from  the  midst  of  the  city  as  if  to 
depart  from  the  temple  (chap.  11 :  23).  AVith  the  fall  of  that  tem- 
ple, this  symbol  of  his  presence  had  of  course  disappeared  from 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXXVII.  215 

among  them.  Bat  here  the  Lord  pledges  himself  to  return  and 
indeed  to  dwell  with  his  people  in  forms  and  manifestations  far 
more  rich,  eftective  and  perfect  than  ever  before.  The  ancient 
Shekinah  was  rather  a  symbol  than  itself  a  power.  It  prophesied 
of  the  glorious  presence  of  God  by  his  Spirit  in  the  future  days  of 
Zion.  But  here  those  days  are  drawn  up  near  the  eye  for  a  more<^ 
distinct  and  impressive  view.  Christian  hearts  become  the  temple 
of  the  living  God.  Here  are  the  germs  of  those  precious  thoughts 
which  our  Lord  unfolded  so  richly  when  he  opened  his  mouth  to 
speak  of  the  Comforter  (Jn.  chaps.  12-16),  and  which  Paul  grasped 
with  so  clear  a  view  of  their  spiritual  power  in  his  letter  to  the 
brethren  at  Corinth  (2  Cor.  6:  16-18,  and  7:  1).  "For  ye  are  the 
temple  of  the  living  God ;  as  God  hath  said ;  1  will  dwell  in  them 
and  walk  in  them,  and  I  will  be  their  God,  and  they  shall  be  my 

people,"  etc. The  reader  should  not  fail  to  notice  that  this  very 

blessing — God  dwelling  with  and  in  his  people,  making  his  presence 
manifest  as  a  power  unto  their  holiness  and  blessedness — is  the 
great  comprehensive  promise  of  both  the  Old  Testament  dispensa- 
tion and  the  New.  It  had  the  Shekinah  in  the  most  holy  place 
as  its  symbol  under  the  Old  Dispensation :  it  was  embodied  in  the 
promise  and  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  the  Gospel  age.  To  Moses 
the  Lord  said  (Ex.  29:  45,  46)  "I  will  dwell  among  the  children  of 
Israel  and  will  be  their  God;  and  they  shall  know  that  I  am  the 
Lord  their  God  who  brought  them  forth  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt 
that  I  may  dwell  among  them:  I  am  the  Lord  their  God."  And 
again  (Lev.  26 :  3,  11,  12);  "If  ye  walk  in  my  statutes  and  keep  my 

commandments   and  do  them I  will  set  my  tabernacle 

among  you,  and  my  soul  shall  not  abhor  you,  and  I  will  walk  among 
you,  and  will  be  your  God,  and  ye  shall  be  my  people."  These  are 
specimen  passages  from  the  records  of  the  ancient  economy.  As 
to  the  Gospel  age  it  may  suffice  to  refer  to  the  promises  of  our 
Lord ;  "  He  that  loveth  me  shall  be  loved  of  my  Father,  and  I  will 
love  him  and  ivill  manifest  myself  unto  hi7n."  "If  a  man  love  me, 
he  will  keep  my  words,  and  my  Father  will  love  him,  and  we  loill 
come  unto  him  and  make  our  abode  with  Imn."  "It  is  expedient  for 
you  that  I  go  away,  for  if  I  go  not  away,  the  Comforter  will  not 
come ;  but  if  I  depart,  I  will  send  him  unto  you,"  "  He  shaU  teach 
you  all  things,  and  bring  all  things  to  your  remembrance  whatso- 
ever I  have  said  unto  you."  "He  shall  testify  of  me."  "He  will 
guide  you  into  all  truth.  He  shall  take  of  mine  and  shall  show  it 
unto  you,"  etc.  John  14:  21,  23,  26,  and  15 :  26,  and  16 :  7-15.— 
From  Paul  come  these  expressive  words,  "Know  ye  not  that 
ye  are  the  temple  of  God,  and  that  the  Spirit  of  God  dwelleth 
in  you?"  "  Kaow  ye  not  that  your  body  is  the  temple  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  which  is  in  you  which  ye  have  of  God,  and  ye  are  not 
your  own?"  "And  what  agreement  hath  the  temple  of  God  with 
idols?  For  ye  are  the  temple  of  the  living  God,"  etc.  1  Cor.  3: 
16,  and  6 :  19,  and  2  Cor.  6 :  16.  "  In  whom" (Christ)  ye  are  builded 
together  for  an  habitation  of  God  through  the  Spirit"  (Eph.  2:  22). 
Paul  speaks  of  this  doctrine  as  specially  well  known — one  of  the 


216  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXXVII. 

obvious  and  fundaitoptal  truths  of  the  Goepel  system.  In  its  very 
nature  it  must  be. — ^The  exiles  needed  precisely  the  encouragement 
and  the  inspiration  which  such  promises  bore  to  their  hearts.  The 
time  then  present  was  the  great  crisis  in  their  moral  renovation. 
V^The  fierce  judgments  of  the  Almighty  had  smitten  down  the  city  and 
/*'  temple  of  their  fathers.  Would  they,  the  children,  now  turn  from 
their  idol-worship ;  open  their  eyes  to  the  spiritual  mercies  which  the 
Lord  was  so  gloriously  revealing ;  abandon  all  their  carnal  trust  in 
the  external  things  of  Judaism,  and  seek  the  new  heart  and  the  new 
spirit  which  the  Lord  so  kindly  promised  ?    If  so,  this  revelation 

^^^^  of  a  glorious  future  for  the  true  Israel  and  Zion  would  be  most  per- 
tinent and  most  welcome. "  Save  them  out  of  all  their  dwelling- 
places  wherein  they  have  sinned,"  is  a  remarkable  expression, 
tacitly  implying  that  the  very  localities  of  their  sin  had  become  a 
power,  under  the  laws  of  association,  toward  continued  sinning, 
from  which  they  needed  to  be  saved.  Was  it  for  this  reason  that 
the  Lord  sent  otf  the  better  and  hopeful  portion  of  the  people  into 
exile  till  he  could  burn  the  land  over  with  the  fires  of  war  and 
desolation,  and  efiace  the  last  vestige  of  its  old  pollutions,  and 
break  up  forever  those  impure  associations  which  ages  of  idol-wor- 
ship had  impressed  on  its  hills  and  groves  and  its  valley  of  Hin- 

nom  ? And  is  there  any  thing  analogous  to  this  in  the  Christian 

life  of  God's  people  whereby  he  crucifies  the  power  of  old  sins,  and 
smites  down  the  influence  of  their  mental  associations  so  as  to  undo 

effectually  the  mischief  which  years  of  sin  have  wrought? Other 

questions,  somewhat  less  vital  intrinsically,  yet  important  and  vari- 
ously held,  demand  notice;  e.  g.,  Wheyi  are  these  prophecies  to  be 
fulfilled  ?  Do  they  not  assume  the  yet  future  restoration  of  the  Jews 
to  Canaan  and  make  that  land  the  locality,  the  place,  of  their  ful- 
fillment?  Briefly,  my  views  of  these  chapters  of  Ezekiel  (34,  36, 

37)  are  these:  They  are  general,  not  specific;  comprehensive  rather 

<;^  than  minute.     Their  gentral  thought  is  promise — the  assurance  of 

^  God's  love  and  faithfulness  to  his  Zion,  especially  in  his  pledge 
of  his  presence  as  a  power  unto  her  sanctification.  "I  will  be 
with  you  to  sanctify  and  to  save  you  from  all  your  sins,"  is  the 

■^  elementary  and  precious  truth  which  they  bear.  Now  let  it  be 
carefully  noted: — jThis  great  central  truth  applied  under  the  old  dis- 
pensation while  it  lasted,  in  harmony  loith  the  genius  of  that  dispen- 
sation. It  applies  under  the  new,  in  harmony  with  its  genius  and 
spirit.  Under  the  old,  it  promised  restoration  to  the  literal  Ca- 
naan and  the  reestablishment  of  the  Mosaic  ritual  system.  It 
came  to  the  exiles  with  these  cheering  promises  and  hopes,  in 
terms  which  they  could  not  misunderstand.  To  them  these  prom- 
ises in  this  sense  were  the  very  thing  they  needed,  for  the  Zion 
and  kingdom  of  God  had  not  yet  cast  oft'  the  forms  of  the  Mosaic 
system. But  for  the  gospel  age,  under  the  New  Testament  dis- 
pensation, these  same  promises  had  a  new  and  different  specific 
sense.  Their  general  sense  was  and  is  still  the  same;  but  their 
external,  specific  sense  has  changed.  To  explain  this  change  and 
to  bring  the  practical  views  and  the  actual  Christian  life  of  the 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXXVII.  217 

church  into  harmony  with  it  were  the  great  struggle  and  labor  of 
the  Apostolic  age.  To  induce  converted  Jews  to  let  go  the  ritual 
and  joyfully  accept  the  spiritual;  to  forego  what  was  exclusive  and 
national  in  Judaism,  and  still  retain  all  that  its  symbols  signified 
and  its  promises  pledged,  cost  the  Apostles  whole  years  of  intensest 
labor.  That  labor  should  suffice  to  give  us  the  clew  to  the  inter- 
pretation of  these  prophecies  as  applied  to  the  Gospel  age.  That 
part  of  their  significance  which  yet  remained  to  be  fulfilled  after 
the  death  of  Christ — no  small  part  surely — must  be  seen  in  the 
light  of  New  Testament  ideas.  It  would  be  the  greatest  and 
grossest  of  mistakes  to  ignore  the  immense  work  wrought  by  Christ 
and  his  Apostles  toward  the  just  interpretation  of  the  Mosaic  ritual 
system  and  of  the  whole  Hebrew  economy,  with  all  its  gospel 
promise  and  gospel  prophecy,  in  their  application  to  the  Christian 
age. We  have  this  gospel  idea  in  a  nutshell  in  the  passages  al- 
ready quoted  from  Paul.  Comparing  Paul  (2  Cor.  6:  16)  with 
Ezekiel  in  the  passage  before  us,  we  shall  see  it,  Ezekiel  reads, 
"I  will  set  my  sanctuary  in  the  midst  of  them  forever  more;"  "My 
tabernacle  shall  be  with  them ;  yea,  I  will  be  their  God  and  they 
shall  be  my  people,"  etc.  Now,  in  the  old  dispensation,  this  sanc- 
tuary was  God's  temple  of  wood  and  stone ;  his  residence  in  it  was 

through  the  \asible  glory  over  the  ark  of  the  covenant. What 

form  does  his  presence  assume  in  the  new  dispensation  ?  Let  Paul 
answer.  "  Ye  are  the  temple  of  the  living  God ;  as  God  hath  said 
{e.  (/.,  Ezek.  37:  26,  28  and  elsewhere)  "I  will  dwell  in  them  and 
walk  in  them,  and  I  will  be  their  God,  and  they  shall  be  my  people." 
Every  Christian  becomes  "  a  temple  of  the  living  God;"  "  an  habita- 
tion of  God  through  the  Spirit."  Consequently  in  the  Christian 
age  we  look  no  longer  for  the  restriction  of  worship  to  the  one 
place,  the  holy  temple  at  Jerusalem.  Our  Lord  decided  this  very 
question  in  his  discourse  with  the  woman  of  Samaria  (Jn.  4:  20- 
24).  Hence  we  look  for  no  reoccupancy  of  Canaan  by  the  covenant 
people,  for  the  covenant  people  are  now  the  Christian  men  and 
women  of  every  nation  under  the  whole  heaven,  and  the  Canaan 
where  they  oflfer  accepted  worship  is  any  place  whatever  in  the 
wide  world  where  they  please   to  worship  God  in  spirit  and  in 

truth. To  bring  back  the  Jews  to  Palestine  in  times  yet  future 

under  this  promise  carries  with  it  the  return  to  Judaism  and  the 
rebuilding  of  the  material  temple,  and  goes  back  from  the  accepted 
worship  every-where  of  all  pious  hearts  through  faith  in  the  Re- 
deemer's blood — goes  back  from  the  glorious  gospel  idea  that  the 
Holy  Ghost  makes  every  Christian  heart  his  temple; — f^-oes  back 
to  reestablish  that  ancient  system  which  in  the  age  of  Paul  had 

already  "waxed  old  and  was  vanishing  away."    (lleb,  8:  13). 

The  position  to  which  I  adhere  is  that  the  church  is  now  and 
henceforward  in  the  Christian  age  and  not  in  the  Jewish ;  that  she 
has  passed  by  the  Jewish,  and  that  God  does  not  intend  she  shall  re- 
turn to  it  again ;  that  the  Jewish  in  its  peculiar  form  and  symbolic 
significance  has  done  its  work  and  will  never  do  it  over  again ;  and 
that  it  behooves  us  to  be  satisfied  with  the  Christian  system,  make 
10 


218  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXXVIII. 

the  most  of  it,  develop  its  inherent  energies  to  their  utmost  extent, 
and  thus,  through  the  resources  of  the  Spirit's  power,  cause,  it  to 
"become  mi.iihty  through  God  to  convert  the  nations  to  Christ  and 
reoienerate  the  world. 


CHAPTERS  XXXVIII  AND  XXXIX. 

These  two  chapters  are  essentially  one  in  their  subject-matter 
and  aim,  and  are  closely  connected  with  chaps.  34,  36,  and  37  pre- 
ceding, and  with  chaps.  40-48  following.  They  are  manifestly  part 
of  the  series  of  prophecies  recorded  in  the  three  preceding  chap- 
ters— refer  to  the  same  great  future  of  Zion,  and  are  in  the  same 
sense  general  rather  than  specific  in  their  ultimate  meaning.  The 
one  great  truth  which  they  teach  is  expressed  forcibly  by  Isaiah 
(54:  17,  15).  "No  w^eapon  that  is  formed  against  thee  shall  pros- 
per." "Behold,  they  shall  gather  together  {i.  e.,  against  thee)  but 
not  bi/  me;  whosoever  shairgathor  together  against  thee  shall  fall 

for  thy  sake." The  manner  of  presenting  this  great  truth — the 

costume  of  the  prophecy — sets  forth  that  in  the  remote  future,  after 
Israel  had  been  a  long  time  at  rest  and  in  peace  in  their  own  land, 
and  had  become  wealthy,  a  vast  horde  of  northern  barbarians 
should  fall  upon  their  land  for  purposes  of  plunder ;  but  God  calls 
for  a  sword  against  them.  Indignant  at  this  outrage,  and  jealous 
for  his  holy  name,  he  interposes  with  terrific  judgments  upon 
them,  cuts  them  off  with  immense  slaughter,  and  forever  exalts  his 
name  before  all  the  heathen  as  the  Deliverer  and  Savior  of  his 

people. It  is  assumed  with  a   fair  degree  of  probability  that 

Ezekiel  names  these  supposed  enemies  of  Israel  with  his  eye  on  a 
vast  marauding  expedition  of  Scythians,  in  which  they  swept  over 
Western  Asia  about  the  time  of  the  fall  of  Nineveh  {i.  d,  B.  C. 
625),  and  were  not  thoroughly  driven  back  short  of  about  twenty- 
eight  years.  Gesenius  (in  his  Thesaurus)  says  ;  "  There  is  scarcely 
a  doubt  that  for  the  most  part  those  nations  are  meant  here  whom 
the  Greeks  comprehended  under  the  name  Scythians,  whoso  vast 
expedition  against  Egypt  in  the  very  age  of  Ezekiel  seems  to  have 
given  that  prophet  the  occasion  for  this  reference — the  handle  for 
such  a  prophecy."  The  writer  of  the  article  on  Magog  in  Smith's 
Bible  Dictionary  represents  them  as  at  this  time  a  formidable  power 
throughout  Western  Asia ;  as  having  been  crowded  from  their  orig- 
inal homes,  north  of  the  Caucasian  mountains,  by  the  inroads  of 
the  Massagetac ;  as  then  forcing  their  way  into  Asia  Minor  in  war 


writers  as  expert  with  the  bow,  famous  as  mounted  bowmen,  and 

notorious  for  their  rapacious  and  cruel  habits. The  memory  of 

these  events  being  yet  fresh  in  the  minds,  of  his  readers,  Ezekiel 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXXVIII.  219 

(i.  e.j  God  through  him)  selected  these  Scythians  as  the  symbol  of 
earthly  violence  arrayed  against  the  people  of  God,  but  meeting  a 
signal  and  utter  overthrow. 

1.  And  the  word  of  the  Lord  came  unto  me,  saying, 

2.  Son  of  man,  set  thy  face  against  Gog,  the  land  of 
Magog,  the  chief  prince  of  Meshecli  and  Tubal,  and  proph- 
esy against  him, 

3.  And  say.  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God;  Behold,  I  am 
against  thee,  O  Gog,  the  chief  prince  of  Meshecli  and 
Tubal : 

4.  And  I  will  turn  thee  back,  and  put  hooks  into  thy 
jaws,  and  I  will  bring  thee  forth,  and  all  thine  army, 
horses  and  horsemen,  all  of  them  clothed  with  all  sorts  of 
minor,  even  a  great  company  with  bucklers  and  shields, 
all  of  them  handling  swords : 

5.  Persia,  Ethiopia,  and  Libya  with  them ;  all  of  them 
with  shield  and  helmet: 

6.  Gomer,  and  all  his  bands  ;  the  house  of  Togarmah  of 
the  north  quarters,  and  all  his  bands:  and  many  people 
with  thee. 

"Magog"  is  here  the  name  of  the  king;  "Gog"  the  name  of  his 

country. The  word  rendered   "chief,"  in    the   clause,    "chief 

prince,"  etc.,  is  not  an  adjective  as  our  translators  supposed,  but  a 
proper  noun.  The  word  is  JRosch,  and  is  supposed  to  be  the  ear- 
liest historical  allusion   to  the  people    afterward    known  as    the 

Russians. "Meshech  and  Tubal,"  the  countries  of  the  Moschi 

and  the  Tibareni,  lay  on  the  south  of  the  Caspian,  the  home  of  the 
people  known  by  the  ancient  Greeks  as  the  Scythians.  Josephus, 
(Antiquities  1:  6:  1)  says  that  "Magog,  second  son  of  Japheth, 
(Gen.  10 :  2)  founded  those  who  were  called  by  the  Greeks  Scyth- 
ians."  "Gomer,"  named  first  of  the  sons  of  Japheth  (Gen.  10: 

2),  probably  the  father  and  founder  of  the  Cimmerians,  helped  to 
swell  the  great  Scythian  horde.      "  Tagarmah"  was  a  kindred  tribe, 

thought  by  some  to  be  the  Armenians. ^Persia,  Ethiopia,  and 

Libya  are  named  here  with  them  to  fill  out  the  representation  of 
an   immense    and  countless  horde.      These  names   do  not  occur 

again. In  v.  4  the  original  phrase  rendered,  "  clothed  with  all 

sorts  of  armor,"  seems  not  to  refer  to  military  armor^  but  to  gor- 
geous apparel.  Their  armor,  offensive  and  defensive,  is  spoken  of 
subsequently. 

7.  Be  thou  prepared,  and  prepare  for  thyself,  thou,  and 
all  thy  company  that  are  assembled  unto  thee,  and  be  thou 
a  guard  unto  them. 

8.  After  many  days  thou  shalt  be  visited:  in  the  latter 
years  thou  shalt  come  into  the  land  that  ia  brought  back 


220  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXXVIII. 

from  the  sword,  and  is  gathered  out  of  many  people,  against 
the  mountains  of  Israel,  which  have  been  always  waste: 
but  it  is  bl'ought  forth  out  of  the  nations,  and  they  shall 
dwell  safely  all  of  them. 

9.  Thou  shalt  ascend  and  come  like  a  storm,  thou  shalt 
be  like  a  cloud  to  cover  the  land,  thou,  and  all  thy  bands, 
and  many  people  with  thee. 

"Be  thou  prepared;"  "prepare  for  thyself;"  are  not  to  be  taken 
as  commanding  in  serious  earnest,  but  as  daring  and  challenging 
in  irony.  Since  so  you  will,  do  it  if  you  dare  !  So  through  Isaiah, 
(chap.  8:  9,  10)  the  Lord  accosts  the  proud  Assyrians  and  others; 
"Associate  yourselves,  O  ye  nations,  and  ye  shall  be  broken  to  pieces ; 
gird  yourselves,  and  ye  shall  be  broken  to  pieces.     Take  counsel 

together,  and  it  shall  come  to  naught,"  etc. "Be  thou  a  guard 

unto  them,"  means  rather,  Take  the  lead  of  them;  head  the  grand 

enterprise,  0  Gog! In  v.  8,  "Thou  shalt  be  visited,"  means — 

not,  thou  shalt  be  punished^  but  thou  shalt  muster  thy  forces  and 
become  their  leader,  making  all  ready  for  the  great  expedition 
against  Israel.     The  prediction  of  his  punishment  comes  in  later,  in 

v.  18. This  verse  describes  the  land  of  Israel  as  having  passed 

through  the  scenes  of  the  Chaldean  captivity  and  desolation;  as 
having  been  long  waste,  but  as  repeopled,  reclaimed  from  its  waste 
condition,  and  now  for  a  long  time  prosperous.  I  paraphrase  the 
latter  part  of  the  verse  thus:  "The  mountains  of  Israel  which  have 
long  lain  waste — the  same  which  have  been  resettled  by  returning 
exiles  brought  forth  from  the  nations,  and  who  have  now  long  dwelt 
in  safety  and  prosperity."  Against  this  people,  Gog  and  his  hosts 
came  down  like  a  storm  to  sweep  and  a  cloud  to  cover  the  land. 

10.  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God;  It  shall  also  come  to  pass, 
that  at  the  same  time  shall  things  come  into  thy  mind,  and 
thou  shalt  think  an  evil  thought: 

11.  And  thou  shalt  say,  I  will  go  up  to  the  land  of  un- 
walled  villages;  I  will  go  to  them  that  are  at  rest,  that 
dwell  safely,  all  of  them  dwelling  without  walls,  and  hav- 
ing neither  bars  nor  gates, 

12.  To  take  a  spoil,  and  to  take  a  prey;  to  turn  thy  hand 
upon  the  desolate  places  that  are  now  inhabited,  and  upon 
the  people  that  are  gathered  out  of  the  nations,  which  have 
gotten  cattle  and  goods,  that  dwell  in  the  midst  of  the  land. 

God  knew  and  here  describes  how  the  thought  of  plundering  a 
people,  unprotected  and  off  their  guard,  excited  his  rapacity  and 

put  him  upon  this  expedition. The  last  clause  of  f.  12  means 

not  precisely  "  in  the  midst  of  the  land,"  but  on  the  height  of  the 
land.  The  Jews  thought  of  their  country,  Palestine,  as  not  only 
the  glory  of  all  lands,  but  also  as  the  crown,  the  height  of  the 
world.     This  is  the  sense  of  the  rare  word  here  used  by  the  prophet. 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXXVIII.  221 

V 

It  occurs  elsewhere,  Judg.  9 :  37 ;  there  rendered,  "  the  middle  of 
the  land,"  but  better,  "  down  from  the  height  of  the  land." 

13.  Slieba,  and  Dedan,  and  the  merchants  of  Tarshish, 
with  all  the  young  lions  thereof,  shall  say  unto  thee,  Art 
thou  come  to  take  a  spoil?  hast  thou  gathered  thy  com- 
l^any  to  take  a  prey  ?  to  carry  aAvay  silver  and  gold,  to 
take  aw^ay  cattle  and  goods,  to  take  a  great  spoil? 

Sheba  and  Dedan,  prominent  districts  of  Arabia,  and  Tarshish 
of  Spain,  famed  for  its  trade  with  the  Phenician  cities,  appear 
suddenly  and  for  the  moment  only  in  this  drama.  Their  question 
might  under  some  circumstances  be  taken  as  a  rebuke ;  but  in  this 
case  probably  it  is  one  of  sympathy,  as  much  as  to  say.  You  are 
in,  it  seems,  for  a  grand  scene  of  plunder :  let  us  have  a  share !  For 
these  people  also  are  to  be  thought  of  as  enemies  of  God's  children, 
and  as  introduced  here  to  amplify  the  description  and  set  forth  that 
all  the  nations  of  the  earth,  outside  of  Palestine,  are  in  arms 
against  her  for  one  combined  and  fearful  onslaught. 

14.  Therefore,  son  of  man,  prophesy  and  say  unto  Gog, 
Thus  saith  the  Lord  God;  In  that  day  when  my  people  of 
Israel  dwelleth  safely,"  shalt  thou  not  know  it  f 

15.  And  thou  shalt  come  from  thy  place  out  of  the  north 
parts,  thou,  and  many  people  with  thee,  all  of  them  riding 
upon  horses,  a  great  company,  and  a  mighty  army: 

16.  And  thou  shalt  come  up  against  my  people  of  Israel, 
as  a  cloud  to  cover  the  land;  it  shall  be  in  the  latter  days, 
and  I  w^ill  bring  thee  against  my  land,  that  the  heathen 
may  know  me,  when  I  shall  be  sanctified  iii  thee,  O  Gog, 
before  their  eyes. 

17.  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God;  Art  thou  he  of  whom  I 
have  spoken  in  old  time  by  my  servants  the  prophets  of 
Israel,  which  prophesied  in  those  days  many  years,  that  I 
would  bring  thee  against  them? 

The  points  made  here  are  not  intricate.  Shall  not  these  com- 
bined nations  know  their  time  for  assault  on  my  defenseless  peo- 
ple ?  They  will.  They  are  to  come  from  the  northern  parts,  anal- 
ogous to  the  avalanche  from  northern  Europe  that  overran  tlie  old 
and  eficte  Roman  empire ;  or  in  later  times,  the  sweep  of  the  Tartar 

hordes  under  Tamerlane. It  should  be  "in  the  latter  days" — 

here  quite  indefinite  and  very  probably  referring  in  part,  perhaps  in 
large  part,  to  events  yet  future. V.  17  intimates  that  this  on- 
slaught upon  the  kingdom  and  people  of  God  is  the  same  which  his 
prophets  had  predicted  in  years  then  past.  Since  no  prophet  up  to 
that  time  had  named  precisely  these  enemies,  we  are  compelled  (as 
above  indicated)  to  give  these  names  a  general  and  not  specific 
sense,  accounting  them  to  represent  not  those  nations  in  particular, 


222  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXXVIII. 

• 

but  any  and  every  form  of  hostility  to  the  kingdom  of  God.     Only 
in  this  sense  could  it  he  said  to  have  been  the  burden  of  previous 

prophecv. In  the  clause,  "In  those  days  many  years,"  tlie  word 

^'■many'   is  superfluous,  the  sense  being,  "in  those  days  and  years." 

18.  And  it  shall  come  to  pass  at  the  same  time  when 
Gog  shall  come  against  the  land  of  Israel,  saith  the  Lord 
God,  that  my  fury  shall  come  up  in  my  face. 

19.  For  in  my  jealousy  and  in  the  fire  of  my  wrath  have 
I  spoken,  Surely  in  that  day  there  shall  be  a  great  shaking 
in  the  land  of  Israel ; 

20.  So  that  the  fishes  of  the  sea,  and  the  fowls  of  the 
heaven,  and  the  beasts  of  the  field,  and  all  creeping  things 
that  creep  upon  the  earth,  and  all  the  men  that  are  upon 
the  face  of  the  earth,  shall  shake  at  my  presence,  and  the 
mountains  shall  be  thrown  down,  and  the  steep  places  shall 
fall,  and  every  wall  shall  fall  to  the  ground. 

21.  And  I  will  call  for  a  sword  against  him  throughout 
all  my  mountains,  saith  the  Lord  God:  every  man's  sword 
shall  be  against  his  brother. 

22.  And  I  will  plead  against  him  with  pestilence  and 
with  blood;  and  I  will  rain  upon  him  and  upon  his  bands, 
and  upon  the  many  people  that  are  with  him,  an  overflow- 
ing rain,  and  great  hailstones,  fire,  and  brimstone. 

23.  Thus  will  I  magnify  myself,  and  sanctify  myself; 
and  I  will  be  known  in  the  eyes  of  many  nations,  and 
they  shall  know  that  I  am  the  Lord. 

"My  fury  shall  come  up  in  my  face,"  refers  to  the  usual  mani- 
festations of  intense  excitement — a  flushed  countenance,  the  blood 
rushing  to  the  head  and  imprinting  the  marks  of  strong  feeling 
upon  the  face.  The  indignation  of  the  Almighty  is  intensely 
aroused  against  these  heathen  hosts  who  are  combined  to  pillage 
and  destroy  his  people.  A  great  shaking  follows,  a  terrible  earth- 
quake, felt  by  all  who  dwell  in  the  vast  deep,  by  every  fowl  of  the 
heavens  and  every  beast  of  the  field,  before  which  the  mountains 
are  thrown  down,  and  every  wall  built  of  man,  however  deep-laid 
its  foundations,  shall  fall  to  the  ground.  Tlie  mighty  God  calls  for 
a  sword  against  this  huge  host  throughout  all  his  mountains ;  every 
man's  sword  is  against  his  brother.  These  enemies  of  God's  peo- 
j>le  become  fheir  own  destroyers.  Ah  truly,  evermore  the  liOrd 
knows  how  to  make  the  wrath  of  man  praise  himself  and  to  gird 
about  him  the  extremest  wrath  of  men  as  his  own  sword  for  their 
destruction.  The  last  clause  of  this  significant  passage  (Ps.  76 ;  10) 
announces  the  very  principle  or  law  developed  in  this  predicted 
slaughter.  The  Almiglity  God  girds  on  the  extremest  wrath  of 
these  wicked  men  and  makes  it  his  own  sword  for  their  universal 
destruction. The  description  here  is  graphic  and   fearful.     "I 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXXIX.  223 

■will  plead  against  him  with  pestilence  and  with  blood" — the  plague 
combining  with  the  sword  to  cut  short  the  lives  of  myriads  and 

strew  the  land  with  mountain  heaps  of  the  slain. "I  will  rain 

upon  him  and  upon  his  bands  and  upon  the  many  people  that  are 
with  him,  an  overflowing  rain  and  great  hailstones,  fire  and  brim- 
stone"— in  which  description  all  the  great  and  destructive  agencies 
of  the  physical  world  combine  to  fill  out  the  picture  and  make  up 
a  scene  of  appalling  slaughter.  So  the  Psalmist;  ".Upon  the 
wicked,  God  will  rain  snares,  fire  and  brimstone  and  an  horrible 
tempest;  this  shall  be  the  portion  of  their  cup  (Ps.  11:  6).  The 
fire  on  Sodom  (Gen.  19 :  24,  25)  and  Isaiah's  smitten  Idumea  (chap. 
34)  are  in  the  same  strain  of  appalling  grandeur  and  of  fearful  de- 
struction!  The  exalted  purpose  of  God  in  these  judgments  is 

shown,  viz.,  to  magnify  his  power;  to  make  his  name  great;  to 
vindicate  his  holiness  and  his  righteous  justice,  and  to  make  aU 
the  nations  know  that  he  is  the  Lord,  the  glorious  Ruler  of  all 
kingdoms,  and  the  no  less  glorious  Deliverer  of  his  people. 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 


This  chapter  continues  and  closes  the  subject  of  the  preceding 
one,  expanding  its  descriptions  and  reiterating  its  momentous 
truths. 

1.  Therefore,  thou  son  of  man,  prophesy  against  Gog, 
and  say,  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God ;  Behold,  I  am  against 
thee,  O  Gog,  the  chief  prince  of  Meshech  and  Tubal : 

2.  And  I  will  turn  thee  back,  and  leave  but  the  sixth 
part  of  thee,  and  will  cause  thee  to  come  up  from  the 
north  parts,  and  will  bring  thee  upon  the  mountains  of 
Israel : 

3.  And  I  will  smite  thy  bow  out  of  thy  left  hand,  and 
will  cause  thine  arrows  to  fall  out  of  thy  right  hand. 

4.  Thou  shalt  fall  upon  the  mountains  of  Israel,  thou, 
and  all  thy  bands,  and  the  people  that  is  with  thee :  I  will 
give  thee  unto  the  ravenous  birds  of  every  sort,  and  to  the 
beasts  of  the  fiield,  to  be  devoured. 

5.  Thou  shalt  fall  upon  the  open  field :  for  I  have  spoken 
it,  saith  the  Lord  God. 

6.  And  I  will  send  a  fire  on  Magog,  and  among  them 
that  dwell  carelessly  in  the  isles :  and  they  shall  know  that 
I  am  the  Lord. 

7.  So  will  I  make  my  holy  name  known  in  the  midst  of 
my  people  Israel ;  and  I  will  not  let  them  pollute  my  holy 


224  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXXIX. 

name  any  more :  and  the  heathen  shall  know  that  I  am 
the  Lord,  the  Holy  One  in  Israel. 

In  the  first  clause  of  v.  2  the  ablest  modern  critics  read,  not  ''  1 
will  leave  but  a  sixth  part  of  thee ;  "  but,  "  I  will  bring  thee  out,  and 
lead  or  urge  thee  on,"  etc. — in  harmony  with  the  latter  part  of  the 
verse  and  describing  yet  further  God's  permissive  agency  in  suffer- 
ing this  vast  combination  of  his  enemies.  The  prophet  proceeds 
soon  to  speak  of  their  destruction;  but  docs  not  touch  that  subject 

in  this  second  verse. In  general  these  verses  repeat  the  points 

made  in  the  previous   chapter,   and   in  the   subsequent  parts   of 
this. 

8.  Behold,  it  is  come,  and  it  is  done,  saith  the  Lord 
God ;  this  is  the  day  whereof  I  have  spoken. 

This  verse  corresponds  with  chap.  38 :  17,  to  the  point  that  this 
invasion  represents  the  hostility  of  God's  enemies  against  his  cause 
and  people,  and  had  even  then  been  already  spoken  of  by  the 
prophets. 

9.  And  they  that  dwell  in  the  cities  of  Israel  shall  go 
forth,  and  shall  set  on  fire  and  burn  the  weapons,  both  the 
shields  and  the  bucklers,  the  bows  and  the  arrows,  and  the 
hand-staves,  and  the  spears,  and  they  shall  burn  them  with 
fire  seven  years : 

10.  So  that  they  shall  take  no  w^ood  out  of  the  field, 
neither  cut  down  any  out  of  the  forests  ;  for  they  shall 
burn  the  weapons  with  fire:  and  they  shall  spoil  those  that 
spoiled  them,  and  rob  those  that  robbed  them,  saith  the 
Lord  God. 

To  measure  the  vastncss  of  this  grand  armament  and  give  the 
reader  some  conception  of  its  magnitude,  their  weapons  of  war  are 

said  to  have  supplied  fuel  for  all  Israel  seven  years. Now  is  the 

time  for  Israel  to  rob  and  plunder  those  who  have  long  robbed  and 

plundered  her. These  '■^ivcapons"  made  thus  prominent  remind 

us  of  Isaiah's  words;  "No  weapon  that  is  formed  against  thee  shall 
prosper." 

11.  And  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  that  day,  that  I  will 
give  unto  Gog  a  place  there  of  graves  in  Israel,  the  valley 
of  the  passengers  on  the  east  of  the  sea:  and  it  shall  stop 
the  noses  of  the  passengers:  and  there  shall  they  bury  Gog 
and  all  his  multitude :  and  they  shall  call  it  The  valley  of 
Hamon-gog. 

12.  And  seven  months  shall  the  house  of  Israel  be  bury- 
ing of  them,  that  they  may  cleanse  the  land. 

13.  Yea,  all  the  people  of  the  land  shall  bury  them :  and 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXXIX.  225 

it  shall  be  to  them  a  renown  the  day  that  I  shall'  be  glori- 
fied, saith  the  Lord  God. 

14.  And  they  shall  sever  ont  men  of  continual  employ- 
ment passing  through  the  land  to  bury  with  the  passengers 
those  that  remain  upon  the  face  of  the  earth,  to  cleanse  it: 
after  the  end  of  seven  months  shall  they  search. 

15.  And  the  passengers  that  pass  through  the  land,  w^hen 
any  seeth  a  man's  bone,  then  shall  he  set  up  a  sign  by  it,  till 
the  buriers  have  buried  it  in  the  valley  of  Hamon-gog. 

16.  And  also  the  name  of  the  city  shall  he  Hamonah. 
Thus  shall  they  cleanse  the  land. 

Still  further  to  aid  the  mind  to  conceive  the  vastness  of  this 
slaughter,  the  prophet  describes  the  burial  of  their  dead.  It  occu- 
pied seven  months — seven,  the  round  number  occurring  here  again 
in  its  long,  indefinite  sense.  At  first  ail  the  people  of  the  land 
seem  to  have  been  engaged  in  this  work.  Ultimately  they  set  apart 
"men  of  continual  employment"  to  prosecute  the  work  as  their 
regular  and  constant  business.  Even  they  had  the  aid  of  all  trav- 
elers who  were  passing  through  the  land.  If  any  of  these  saw  an 
unburied  body  or  bone,  they  set  a  pillar  to  mark  the  spot,  till  the 

force  detailed  for  this  purpose  had  buried  all. In  v.  11  the  word 

"?zo5C5,"  in  italics,  should  be  omitted  and  the  passage  be  read;  "It" 
(the  place  of  graves  for  Gog)  "shall  stop  the  way  of  passengers  " — 
shall  block  their  passage.  Located  in  a  great  thoroughfare  along 
the  eastern  shore  of  the  sea,  it  would  obstruct  travel  by  its  masses 

of  slaughtered  dead. In  v.  14,  "bury  with  the  passengers,"  is 

with  the  aid  of  the  passengers,  as  the  next  verse  explains,  and  does 
not  imply  that  the  passengers  are  buried  with  the  slain  enemies  of 

God. The  valley  of  Hamon-gog  is  the  valley  of  the  multitude  or 

hosts  of  Gog. In  V.  14,  "  shall  they  search,"  means  they  shall  glean 

thoroughly;  shall  make  a  very  special  and  final  exploration.  The 
kingdom  of  God  must  be  purified  with  the  utmost  care.  The  Mo- 
saic law  accounted  defilement  by  a  dead  body  more -polluting  than 
any  other.  And  of  all  dead  bodies,  these  of  their  heathen  foes 
would  be  most  polluting. 

17.  And,  thou  son  of  man,  thus  saith  the  Lord  God  ; 
Speak  unto  every  feathered  fowl,  and  to  every  beast  of  the 
field.  Assemble  yourselves,  and  come;  gather  yourselves  on 
every  side  to  my  sacrifice  that  I  do  sacrifice  for  you,  even  a 
great  sacrifice  upon  the  mountains  of  Israel,  that  ye  may 
eat  flesh,  and  drink  blood. 

18.  Ye  shall  eat  the  flesh  of  the  mighty,  and  drink  the 
blood  of  the  princes  of  the  earth,  of  rams,  of  lambs,  and  of 
goats,  of  bullocks,  all  of  them  fatlings  of  Bashan. 

19.  And  ye  shall  eat  fat  till  ye  be  full,  and  drink  blood 


226  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXXIX. 

till  ye  be  drunken,  of  my  sacrifice  which  I  have  sacrificed 
for  you. 

20.  Thus  ye  shall  be  filled  at  my  table  with  horses  and 
chariots,  with  mighty  men,  and  with  all  men  of  war,  saith 
the  Lord  God. 

Here  is  another  of  the  usual  features  in  a  description  of  great 
slaughter — a  summons  to  every  beast  and  fowl ;  to  the  hyenas  and 
vultures  that  delight  in  human  flesh;  to  gather  to  this  great  feast 
prepared  of  God  for  them.  Of  course,  this  aims  to  fill  out  and 
heighten  the  description  of  an  immense  slaughter. 

21.  And  I  will  set  my  glory  among  the  heathen,  and  all 
the  heathen  shall  see  my  judgment  that  I  have  executed, 
and  my  hand  that  I  have  laid  upon  them. 

22.  So  the  house  of  Israel  shall  know  that  I  am  the  Lord 
their  God  from  that  day  and  forward. 

Sublimely  will  the  Lord  Jehovah  "set  his  glory  before  all  the 
heathen"  by  means  of  this  appalling  destruction  of  their  armed 
hosts.  They  shall  know  that  this  is  the  work  of  his  hand,  and 
shall  see  that  indeed  he  is  mighty  to  save  his  people  and  to  avenge 

them  on  their  proudest  foes. The  house  of  Israel  too  shall  see 

and  know  God  s  hand.  This  grand  display  of  it  will  suffice  from 
this  time  forward  and  for  evermore !  They  will  never  again  have 
occasion  to  doubt  whether  God  loves  Zion  and  will  defend  her 
against  whatever  may  assail. 

23.  And  the  heathen  shall  know  that  the  house  of  Israel 
went  into  captivity  for  their  iniquity :  because  they  tres- 
passed against  me,  therefore  hid  I  my  face  from  them,  and 
gave  them  into  the  hand  of  their  enemies :  so  fell  they  all 
by  the  sword. 

24.  According  to  their  uncleanness,  and  according  to  their 
transgressions  have  I  done  unto  them,  and  hid  my  face  from 
them. 

Most  pertinently  the  Lord  declares  that  now  the  heathen  shall 
understand  why  he  seemed  to  abandon  his  people  and  leave  them 
to  go  into  captivity.  It  was  not  (as  tliey  would  fain  suppose)  be- 
cause his  arm  was  too  short  to  save  them;  neither  was  it  that  he 
had  utterly  forsaken  them  and  given  them  over  to  hopeless  ruin: 
but  it  was  because  of  their  apostasy  and  transgression,  and  hence 
as  a  discipline  to  reclaim,  and  not  as  a  judgment  that  should  ex- 
terminate. 

25.  Therefore  thus  saith  the  Lord  God ;  Now  will  I  bring- 
again  the  captivity  of  Jacob,  and  have  mercy  upon  the 
whole  house  of  Israel,  and  will  be  jealous  for  my  holy 
name; 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XXXIX.  227 

26.  After  that  they  have  borue  their  shame,  and  all  their 
trespasses  whei^eby  they  have  trespassed  against  me,  when 
they  dwelt  safely  in  their  land,  and  none  made  them  afraid. 

27.  When  I  have  brought  them  again  from  the  people, 
and  gathered  them  out  of  their  enemies'  lands,  and  am 
sanctified  in  them  in  the  sight  of  many  nations ; 

28.  Then  shall  they  know  that  I  am  the  Lord  their  God, 
which  caused  them  to  be  led  into  caj)tivity  among  the 
heathen :  but  I  have  gathered  them  unto  their  own  land, 
and  have  left  none  of  them  any  more  there. 

29.  Neither  will  I  hide  my  face  any  more  from  them :  for 
I  have  poured  out  my  Spirit  upon  the  house  of  Israel,  saith 
the  Lord  God. 

The  nearer  fulfillment  of  vs.  25,  26 — the  first  installment  of  bless- 
ings— came  in  the  restoration  from  Babylon  under  Zerubbabel.  Its 
subsequent  installments  belong  chiefly  or  wholly  to  the  gospel  age, 
and  take  the  form  peculiar  to  this  age — gospel  blessings.  That 
great  restoration  was  a  pledge  and  symbol  of  all  future  deliverances 
tiiat  God  would  achieve  for  his  people.  In  its  light  they  might  see 
that  their  own  God  is  almighty  to  save,  and  will  certainly  fulfill 

every  good  word  he  has  spoken. The  perpetuity  of  his  fovor  and 

love  is  insured  by  the  mission  and  work  of  his  Spirit ;  for  the  pros- 
perity of  God's  people  is  forever  sure,  provided  only  that  their 
hearts  are  kept  pure  before  the  Lord.  Given,  a  sanctified  people, 
and  there  will  also  be  a  prosperous  and  happy  people.  Zion  has 
nothing  to  fear,  provided  only  that  she  walks  humbly  and  softly  ]je- 
fore  God.  "  For  I  have  poured  out  my  Spirit  upon  the  house  of 
Israel,"  is  therefore  the  unfailing  guaranty  and  pledge  of  abiding 

and  glorious  prosperity  to  Zion. Of  course  this  promise  looks 

down  into  the  gospel  age,  of  which  age  the  mission  of  the  Com- 
forter is  the  grand,  distinctive  characteristic.  Jesus  spake  by  an- 
ticipation of  this  mission  and  of  its  fruits  when  "  in  the  last  day, 
that  great  day  of  the  feast"  (Jn.  7:  37-39)  "he  stood  and  cried, 
'If  any  man  thirst  let  him  come  unto  me  and  drink.'  He  that  be- 
lieveth  on  me,  as  the  scripture  hath  said,  out  of  his  belly  shall  flow 
rivers  of  living  water; — for  he  spake  this  of  the  Spirit  which  they 
that  believe  on  him  should  receive  when  the  Holy  Ghost  should  be 
given" — which  time  then  was  not  yet  because  that  Jesus  was  not 
yet  glorified. 

As  to  the  general  scope  of  these  two  chapters,  treating  of  a  great 
invasion  of  Israel  by  the  hosts  of  Gog,  there  can  be  no  reasonable 
doubt.  They  depict  the  intense  antagonism  of  the  powers  of  sin 
and  hell  in  this  world  against  the  church  and  kingdom  of  God.  In 
costume  Jewish,  to  make  it  readily  intelligible  to  the  people  for 
whom  Ezekiel  wrote,  it  is  yet  in  thought  and  bearing,  mainly 
Christian,  belonging  to  the  latter  days  of  the  reign  of  Satan.  It 
does  not  show  that  the  land  of  Israel  (Palestine  proper)  shall  bo 
the  battle-ground ;  it  does  not  teach  that  this  malign  onset  shall  be 


228  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XL. 

with  bows  and  spears  and  horsemen;  it  does  not  even  show  that 
Zion's  enemies  shall  come  out  of  "the  north  parts:" — all  these  are 
features  of  costume,  drapery,  representation.  The  real  truth  lies 
under  all  these  features  and  should  he  carefully  kept  distinct  from 
them  all.  This  truth  is  that  sin  and  Satan  will  assail  (lod  in  the 
form  of  an  assault  upon  his  truth  and  his  people.  The  conflict 
will  be  terrible.  What  precise  form  it  shall  assume,  this  passage 
did  not  aim  to  show.  The  forms  of  Hatan's  onsets  change  from 
age  to  age.  Their  name  is  legion.  It  is  quite  in  vain  to  speculate 
beforehand  as  to  the  form  they  will  assume  in  any  given  age,  pres- 
ent or  future.  It  rather  behooves  us  to  study  all  his  wiles  and 
never  be  ignorant  of  his  devices ;  but  especially,  to  rally  round  the 
banner  of  our  King  and  accept  his  leadership  in  the  mighty  con- 
flict. So  fighting  and  so  trusting,  victory  is  sure  to  Zion,  for  the 
mouth  of  the  Lord  hath  spoken  it! 


CHAPTER  XL. 


The  remaining  nine  chapters  constitute  one  vision,  given  to  the 
prophet  in  the  twenty-fifth  year  of  the  captivity,  i.  e.,  ahout  four- 
teen years  after  the  fall  of  Jerusalem.  It  is  entirely  unique  in  its 
cliaractcr,  yet  closely  connected  in  its  leading  thought  and  pilrpose 

with  chapters  36-39,  immediately  preceding. 1  propose  to  state 

first  in  general  and  briefly,  my  view  of  its  meaning  and  purpose ; 
then  pass  over  the. whole  with  explanations  of  special  passages; 
and  then  finally,  give  my  reasons  for  my  system  of  interpretation. 

I.  I  regard  this  vision  as  an  ideal  representation  of  the  glorious 
future  of  Messiah's  kingdom.  The  7node  of  representing  it  corres- 
ponds with  the  external  character  of  Christ's  church  and  kingdom 
under  the  Mosaic  economy.  This  correspondence  is  natural  and 
should  be  expected.  Ezekiel  and  his  people,  the  exiles  in  Chaldea, 
were  familiar  Avith  no  other  form  of  divine  worship  and  Avith  no 
other  organization — no  other  external  life,  for  the  people  of  God. 
Hence  there  Avas  the  same  reason  for  using  this  class  of  symbols 
to  represent  the  future  kingdom  of  Christ  as  for  using  the  Hebrew 
language  in  speaking  to  them,  rather  than  the  Greek,' the  Latin,  or 
the  English — viz,,  the  fitness  of  using  figures  and  symbols  as  Avell 
as  words  Avhich  the  prophet  and  his  people  Avould  readily  under- 
stand.  Let  it  be  borne  in  mind  that  Ezekiel  Avas  by  birtli,  train- 
ing and  profession,  a  priest.  Of  course  he  Avas  perfectly  at  home 
in  all  that  pertained  to  the  temple,  the  priesthood,  and  the  pre- 
scribed forms  of  Mosaic  AA'orship.  In  the  Avorld  of  symlxils,  there- 
fore, this  Avas  his  vernacular  tongue.  Approximately  and  in  gen- 
eral, the  same  may  be  said  of  the  Jcavs  of  his  time,  his  captive 
brethren. In  the  next  place  let  it  be  remembered  that  the  peo- 
ple had  now  been  in  exile  twenty-five  years,  and  their  beloved  city 
in  ruins  fourteen ; — long  enough  to  awaken  anxious  fears  lest  their 


EZEKIEL.— CHAr.  XL.  229 

people  should  never  return,  the  temple  never  be  rebuilt,  and  lest 
the  Zion  of  their  God  should  never  rise  again  from  its  ruins. 
These  fears  are  amply  indicated  in  chap.  37:  11.  To  meet  pre- 
cisely this  great  fear  and  to  inspire  a  precious  confidence  in  a  future 
for  Zion  far  more  glorious  than  its  past  had  ever  been,  this  vision 
came.  It  describes  with  great  minuteness  (chaps.  40-43)  the  new 
temple  yet  to  be;  then  the  return  of  the  glorious  Shekinah  to  fix 
his  abode  once  more  in  this  temple,  henceforward  to  be  there  per- 
petually (chap.  43);  next  the  altar  and  its  laws  of  worship;  then, 
regulations  for  the  prince  and  for  the  priests  (chap.  44) ;  then  the 
assignment  of  territory  for  the  temple,  the  priests,  the  Levites,  and 
the  adjacent  city  (chap.  45).  Next,  various  ordinances  for  the 
people,  and  for  the  prince  (chap.  46);  then  a  vision  of  holy  waters 
issuing  from  the  sanctuary,  and  of  the  blessings  they  bear  where 
they  go;  then  the  boundaries  of  their  land  (chap.  47);  and  finally 
the  apportionment  of  territory  to  the  several  trilxjs,  together  with 
a  great  reservation  for  sacred  purposes — for  the  temple,  the  priests, 
the  Levites,  and  the  prince — all- culminating  in  the  one  comprehen- 
sive fact,  embodied  in  the  name  of  the  city,  ^^ Jehovah  jShammah;" 
''''the  Lord  is  therey 

As  to  the  meaning  of  this  very  full  and  minute  vision,  I  reject  the 
literal  sense  most  decidedly.  It  may  be  understood  to  assume  a  res- 
toration from  their  then  present  captivity,  but  certainly  it  does  not 
relate  specially  to  this  nearer  restoration  under  Zerubbabel  and 
does  not  minutely  describe  it.  Nor  does  it  teach  that  at  some  period 
in  the  Christian  age  the  Jews  shall  be  restored  to  their  former  land, 
and  then  their  temple  be  rebuilt,  their  ceremonial  worship  be  re- 
stored, and  this  modified  form  of  the  Mosaic  system  be  developed 
into  actual  life. As  already  indicated,  I  shall  reserve  my  argu- 
ment against  this  view  till  the  whole  passage  is  before  us.  Then  it 
will  be  more  in  place  and  better  understood.  At  this  stage  it  may 
suffice  to  say  that  I  regard  this  vision  as  a  magnificent  panorama, 
thoroughly  symbolical,  and  setting  forth  in  Jewish  costume  and 
drapery  the  future  pro^erity,  the  order,  beauty,  and  moral  power  of 
the  church  in  those  days  when  God  shall  dwell  forever  with  his 
people  by  his  Holy  Spirit,  a  power  unto  holiness  in  their  hearts 
and  lives,  making  the  institutions  and  agencies  of  the  gospel  ex- 
ceedingly efiective  for  evangelizing  the  world  and  bringing  the  na- 
tions to  know  the  Lord. 

1.  In  the  five  and  twentieth  year  of  our  captivity,  in  the 
beginning  of  the  year,  in  the  tenth  day  of  the  month,  in  the 
fourteenth  year  after  that  the  city  was  smitten,  in  the  self- 
same day  the  hand  of  the  Lord  was  upon  me,  and  brought 
me  thither. 

2.  In  the  visions  of  God  brought  he  me  into  the  land  of 
Israel,  and  set  me  upon  a  very  high  mountain,  by  which  was 
as  the  frame  of  a  city  on  the  south. 

3.  And  he  brought  me  thither,  and  behold,  there  was  a 


230  EZEKIEL.— CUAP.  XL. 

man,  whose  appearance  ivas  like  the  appearance  of  brass, 
with  a  line  of  flax  in  his  hand,  and  a  measuring  reed ;  and 
he  stood  in  the  gate, 

4.  And  the  man  said  unto  me.  Son  of  man,  behold  with 
thine  eyes,  and  hear  with  thine  ears,  and  set  thy  heart  upon 
all  that  I  shall  shew  thee ;  for  to  the  intent  that  I  might 
shew  them  unto  thee  art  thou  brought  hither :  declare  all  that 
thou  seest  to  the  house  of  Israel. 

In  these  verses  we  have  the  date  of  this  vision,  as  already  ex- 
plained in  my  introduction  to  these  chapters.  Then  the  account 
proceeds  to  show  that  this  was  truly  a  vision^  the  prophet  being 
transported  to  the  land  of  Israel  and  there  shown  the  frame  of  a 
city  and  a  man  bearing  the  instruments  for  its  measurement.  The 
prophet  is  directed  to  note  with  very  special  care  all  he  shall  see, 
that  he  may  declare  it  to  his  people. 

5.  And  behold  a  wall  on  the  outside  of  the  house  round 
about,  and  in  the  man's  hand  a  measuring  reed  of  six  cubits 
long  by  the  cubit  and  a  hand-breadth :  so  he  measured  the 
breadth  of  the  building,  one  reed :  and  the  height,  one  reed. 

6.  Then  came  he  unto  the  gate  which  looketh  toward  the 
east,  and  went  up  the  stairs  thereof,  and  measured  the  thresh- 
old of  the  gate,  which  was  one  reed  broad;  and  the  other 
threshold  of  the  gate,  which  was  one  reed  broad. 

7.  And  every  little  chamber  ivas  one  reed  long,  and  one 
reed  broad ;  and  between  the  little  chambers  were  Ave  cubits ; 
and  the  threshold  of  the  gate  by  the  porch  of  the  gate 
within  ivas  one  reed. 

8.  He  measured  also  the  porch  of  the  gate  within,  one  reed. 

9.  Then  measured  he  the  porch  of  the  gate,  eight  cubits ; 
and  the  posts  thereof,  two  cubits ;  and  the  porch  of  the  gate 
ivas  inward. 

10.  And  the  little  chambers  of  the  gate  eastward  ivcrc 
three  on  this  side,  and  three  on  that  side;  they  three  ivere 
of  one  measure :  and  the  posts  had  one  measure  on  this  side 
and  on  that  side. 

11.  And  he  measured  the  breadth  of  the  entry  of  the  gate, 
ten  cubits ;  and  the  entry  of  the  gate,  thirteen  cubits. 

12.  The  space  also  before  the  little  chambers  ivas  one  cu- 
bit on  this  side,  and  the  space  was  one  cubit  on  that  side :  and 
the  little  chambers  were  six  cubits  on  this  side,  and  six  cubits 
on  that  side. 

13.  He  measured  then  the  gate  from  the  roof  of  one  little 
chamber  to  the  roof  of  another:  the  breadth  ivas  five,  and 
twenty  cubits,  door  against  door. 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XL.  231 

14.  He  made  also  posts  of  threescore  cubits,  even  unto 
the  post  of  the  court  round  about  the  gate. 

15.  And  from  the  face  of  the  gate  of  the  entrance  unto 
the  face  of  the  porch  of  the  inner  gate  ivere  fifty  cubits. 

16.  And  there  were  narrow  windows  to  the  little  chambers, 
and  to  their  posts  within  the  gate  round  about,  and  likewise 
to  the  arches :  and  windows  were  round  about  inward :  and 
upon  each  post  were  palm-trees. 

17.  Then  brought  he  me  into  the  outward  court,  and  lo, 
there  ivere  chambers,  and  a  pavement  made  for  the  court 
round  about :  thirty  chambers  were  upon  the  pavement. 

18.  And  the  pavement  by  the  side  of  the  gates,  over 
against  the  length  of  the  gates  ims  the  lower  pavement. 

19.  Then  he  measured  the  breadth  from  the  forefront  of 
the  lower  gate  unto  the  forefront  of  the  inner  court  without, 
a  hundred  cubits  eastward  and  northward. 

20.  And  the  gate  of  the  outward  court  that  looked  toward 
the  north,  he  measured  the  length  thereof,  and  the  breadth 
thereof 

21.  And  the  little  chambers  thereof  were  three  on  this  side 
and  three  on  that  side ;  and  the  posts  thereof  and  the  arches 
thereof  were  after  the  measure  of  the  first  gate :  the  length 
thereof  was  fifty  cubits,  and  the  breadth  five  and  twenty 
cubits. 

22.  And  their  windows,  and  their  arches,  and  their  palm- 
trees,  were  after  the  measure  of  the  gate  that  looketh  toward 
the  east :  and  they  went  up  unto  it  by  seven  steps ;  and  the 
arches  thereof  were  before  them. 

23.  And  the  gate  of  the  inner  court  ivas  over  against  the 
gate  toward  the  north,  and  toward  the  east;  and  he  meas- 
ured from  gate  to  gate  a  hundred  cubits. 

24.  After  that  he  brought  me  toward  the  south,  and  be- 
hold a  gate  toward  the  south:  and  he  measured  the  posts 
thereof  and  the  arches  thereof  according  to  these  measures. 

25.  And  there  ivere  windows  in  it  and  in  the  arches  thereof 
round  about,  like  those  windows :  the  length  ims  fifty  cubits, 
and  the  breadth  five  and  twenty  cubits. 

26.  And  there  were  seven  steps  to  go  up  to  it,  and  the 
arches  thereof  toere  before  them :  and  it  had  palm-trees,  one 
on  this  side,  and  another  on  that  side,  upon  the  posts  thereof. 

27.  And  there  was  a  gate  in  the  inner  court  toward  the 
south :  and  he  measured  from  gate  to  gate  toward  the  south 
a  hundred  cubits. 

28.  And  he  brought  me  to  the  inner  court  by  the  south- 


232  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XL. 

gate:   and  he  measured  the  south-gate  accordmg  to  these 
measures : 

29.  And  the  little  chambers  thereof,  and  the  posts  thereof, 
and  the  arches  thereof,  according  to  these  measures:  and 
there  were  windows  in  it  and  in  the  arches  round  about :  it 
was  fifty  cubits  long  and  five  and  twenty  cubits  Inroad. 

30.  And  the  arches  round  about  ivere  five  and  twenty  cu- 
bits long,  and  five  cubits  broad. 

31.  And  the  arches  thereof  ivere  toward  the  outer  court; 
and  palm-trees  wey^e  uj)on  the  posts  thereof,  and  the  going 
up  to  it  had  eight  steps. 

32.  And  he  brought  me  into  the  inner  court  toward  the 
the  east:  and  he  measured  the  gate  according  to  these 
measures. 

33.  And  the  little  chambers  thereof,  and  the  posts  thereof, 
and  the  arches  thereof,  were  according  to  these  measures: 
and  there  ivere  windows  therein  and  in  the  arches  thereof 
round  about:  it  ivas  fifty  cubits  long,  and  five  and  twenty 
cubits  broad. 

34.  And  the  arches  thereof  were  toward  the  outward  court ; 
and  palm-trees  were  upon  the  posts  thereof,  on  this  side,  and 
on  that  side :  and  the  going  up  to  it  had  eight  steps. 

35.  And  he  brought  me  to  the  north  gate,  and  measured 
it  according  to  these  measures ; 

36.  The  little  "chambers  thereof,  the  posts  thereof,  and  the 
arclies  thereof,  and  the  windows  to  it  round  about :  the  length 
ivas  fifty  cubits,  and  the  breadth  five  and  twenty  cubits. 

37.  And  the  posts  thereof  were  toward  the  outer  court; 
and  palm-trees  were  upon  the  posts  thereof,  on  this  side,  and 
on  that  side :  and  the  going  up  to  it  had  eight  steps. 

38.  And  the  chambers  and  the  entries  thereof  iver^e  by 
the  posts  of  the  gates,  where  they  washed  the  burnt-ofiering. 

39.  And  in  the  porch  of  the  gate  ivere  two  tables  on  this 
side,  and  two  tables  on  that  side,  to  slay  thereon  the  burnt- 
otfcring,  and  the  sin-oftering,  land  the  trespass-oftering. 

40.  And  at  the  side  without,  as  one  goeth  up  to  the  entry 
of  the  north  gate,  were  two  tables;  and  on  the  other  side, 
Avliich  was  at  the  porch  of  the  gate,  were  two  tables. 

41.  Four  tables  ivere  on  this  side,  and  four  tables  on  tliat 
vsidc,  by  the  side  of  the  gate;  eiglit  tables,  whereupon  they 
slew  their  sacrifices. 

42.  And  the  four  tables  ivere  of  hewn  stone  for  the  burnt- 
offering,  of  a  cubit  and  a  half  long,  and  a  cubit  and  a  half 
broaJ,  and  one  cubit  high :    whereupon   also  they  laid  the 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XLI.  233 

instruments  wherewith  they  slew  the  burnt-offering  and  the 
sacrifice. 

43.  And  within  loere  hooks,  a  hand  broad,  fastened  round 
about :  and  upon  the  tables  icas  the  flesh  of  the  offering. 

44.  And  without  the  inner  gate  were  the  chambers  of  the 
singers  in  the  inner  court,  which  was  at  the  side  of  the  north 
gate ;  and  their  prospect  ivas  toAvard  the  south :  one  at  the 
side  of  the  east  gate  having  the  prospect  tOAvard  the  north. 

45.  And  he  said  unto  me,  This  chamber,  whose  prospect 
is  toward  the  south,  is  for  the  priests,  the  keepers  of  the 
charge  of  the  house. 

46.  And  the  chamber  whose  prospect  is  toward  the  north 
is  for  the  priests,  the  keepers  of  the  charge  of  the  altar: 
these  are  the  sons  of  Zadok  among  the  sons  of  Levi,  which 
come  near  to  the  Lord  to  minister  unto  him. 

47.  So  he  measured  the  court,  a  hundred  cubits  long,  and 
a  hundred  cubits  broad,  four-square;  and  the  altar  that  ivas 
before  the  house. 

48.  And  he  brought  me  to  the  porch  of  the  house,  and 
measured  each  post  of  the  porch,  five  cubits  on  this  side,  and 
five  cubits  on  that  side :  and  the  breadth  of  the  gate  ivas 
three  cubits  on  this  side,  and  three  cubits  on  that  side. 

49.  The  length  of  the  porch  ic'as  twenty  cubits,  and  the 
breadth  eleven  cubits ;  and  he  brought  me  by  the  steps  whereby 
they  went  up  to  it:  and  there  were  pillars  by  the  posts,  one 
on  this  side,  and  another  on  that  side. 

There  seems  to  be  no  occasion  for  extended  comments  on  this 
description  of  the  temple.  Let  it  suffice  to  suggest  to  the  reader  the 
remarkable  regiilarity  and  uniformity  of  dimensions  that  prevailed 
throughout,  indicating,  we  must  suppose,  the  beautiful  order  that 
shall  prevail  under  the  final  triumph  of  the  gospel  in  our  world. 
Then  every  thing  will  be  in  its  place :  whatever  is  shapeless,  rude, 
uncouth,  will  be  discarded ;  all  Avill  be  morally  right,  and  the  whole 
external  world  will  be  in  beautiful  harmony  with  the  perfect  moral 
order  and  purity  that  will  then  rule  in  human  hearts  and  in  all 
society. 


CHAPTER  XLI. 

This  continued  description  embraces  the  most  holy  place ;  the 
chambers  also,  and  the  altar,  pointed  out  to  the  prophet  particularly 
as  the  table  of  the  Lord,  with  frequent  allusions  to  the  ornamenta- 
tion of  these  apartments  and  walls  by  means  of  engraving  upon  them 


234  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XLI. 

figures  of  palm-trees  and  cherubim. ^The  same  wonderful  regu- 
larity obtains  hero  as  in  the  previous  chapter,  and  with  the  same 
significance. 

1.  Afterward  he  brought  me  to  the  temple,  and  measured 
the  posts,  six  cubits  broad  on  the  one  side,  and  six  cubits 
broad  on  the  other  side,  n^hich  ivas  the  breadth  of  the  tab- 
ernacle. 

2.  And  the  breadth  of  the  door  ivas  ten  cubits ;  and  the 
sides  of  the  door  luere  five  cubits  on  the  one  side,  and  five 
cubits  on  the  other  side :  and  he  measured  the  length 
thereof,  fi^rty  cubits :  and  the  breadth,  tw^enty  cubits. 

3.  Then  went  he  inward,  and  measured  the  j^ost  of  the 
door,  two  cubits ;  and  the  door,  six  cubits ;  and  the  breadth 
of  the  door,  seven  cubits. 

4.  So  he  measured  the  length  thereof,  twenty  cubits ;  and 
the  breadth,  twenty  cubits,  before  the  temple:  and  he  said 
unto  me.  This  is  the  most  holy  place. 

5.  After,  he  measured  the  wall  of  the  house  six  cubits ; 
and  the  breadth  of  every  side-chamber,  four  cubits,  round 
about  the  house  on  every  side. 

6.  And  the  side-chambers  ivere  three,  one  over  another, 
and  thirty  in  order;  and  they  entered  into  the  wall,  which 
^vas  of  the  house  for  the  side-chambers  round  about,  that 
they  might  have  hold,  but  they  had  not  hold  in  the  wall 
of  the  house. 

7.  And  there  ivas  an  enlarging  and  winding  about  still 
upAvard  to  the  side-chambers  :  for  the  winding  about  of  the 
house  went  still  upward  round  about  the  house;  therefore 
the  breadth  of  the  house  ivas  still  upward,  and  so  increased 
from  the  lowest  chamber  to  the  highest  by  the  midst. 

8.  I  saw  also  the  height  of  the  house  round  about:  the 
foundations  of  the  side-chambers  ivere  a  full  reed  of  six 
great  cubits. 

9.  The  thickness  of  the  wall,  which  was  for  the  side- 
Chamber  without,  ivas  five  cubits:  and  that  which  was  left 
tvas  the  place  of  the  side-chambers  that  were  within. 

10.  And  between  the  chambers  was  the  wideness  of  twenty 
cubits  round  about  the  house  on  every  side. 

11.  And  the  doors  of  the  side-chambers  ■  were  toward  the 
place  that  tvas  left,  one  door  toward  the  north,  and  another 
door  toward  the  south :  and  the  breadth  of  the  place  that 
was  left  was  five  cubits  round  about. 

12.  Now  the  building  that  was  before  the  separate  place 
at  the  end  toward  the  west,  was  seventy  cubits  bf oad ;  and 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XLI.  235 

the  wall  of  the  building  ivas  five  cubits  thick  round  about, 
and  the  length  thereof  ninety  cubits. 

13.  So  he  measured  the  house,  a  hundred  cubits  long; 
and  the  separate  place,  and  the  building,  with  the  walls 
thereof,  a  hundred  cubits  long; 

14.  Also  the  breadth  of  the  face  of  the  house,  and  of 
the  separate  place  toward  the  east,  a  hundred  cubits. 

15.  And  he  measured  the  length  of  the  building  over 
against  the  separate  place  which  was  behind  it,  and  the 
galleries  thereof  on  the  one  side  and  on  the  other  side,  a 
hundred  cubits,  with  the  inner  temple,  and  the  porches  of 
the  court; 

16.  The  door  posts,  and  the  narrow  windows,  and  the 
galleries  round  about  on  their  three  stories,  over  against 
the  door,  ceiled  with  wood  round  about,  and  from  the 
ground  up  to  the  windows,  and  the  windows  were  covered ; 

17.  To  that  above  the  door,  even  unto  the  inner  house 
and  without,  and  by  all  the  wall  round  about  within  and 
without,  by  measure. 

18.  And  it  was  made  w^ith  cherubims  and  palm-trees,  so 
that  a  palm-tree  was  between  a  cherub  and  a  cherub ;  and 
every  cherub  had  two  faces ; 

19.  So  that  the  face  of  a  man  ^vas  toward  the  palm-tree 
on  the  one  side,  and  the  face  of  a  young  lion  toward  the 
palm-tree  on  the  other  side :  it  ivas  made  through  all  the 
house  round  about. 

20.  From  the  ground  unto  above  the  door  i^ere  cheru- 
bims and  palm-trees  made,  and  on  the  wall  of  the  temple. 

21.  The  posts  of  the  temple  were  squared,  and  the  face 
of  the  sanctuary ;  the  appearance  of  the  one  as  the  appear- 
ance of  the  other. 

22.  The  altar  of  wood  ivas  three  cubits  high,  and  the 
length  thereof  two  cubits ;  and  the  corners  thereof,  and  the 
length  thereof,  and  the  walls  thereof,  ivere  of  wood:  and 
he  said  unto  me,  This  is  the  table  that  is  before  the  Lord. 

23.  And  the  temple  and  the  sanctuary  had  two  doors. 

24.  And  the  doors  had  two  leaves  ajiiece,  two  turning 
leaves ;  two  leaves  for  the  one  door,  and  two  leaves  for  the 
other  door. 

25.  And  there  ivere  made  on  them,  on  the  doors  of  the 
temple,  cherubims  and  palm-trees,  like  as  ivere  made  upon 
the  walls ;  and  there  were  thick  planks  upon  the  face  of  the 
porch  without. 

26.  And  there  ivere  narrow  windows  and  palm-trees  on 


236  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XLII. 

the  one  side  and  on  the  other  side,  on  the  sides  of  the 
porch,  and  \ipon  the  side  chambers  of  the  house,  and  thick 
planks. 

In  many  respects  this  temple  resembles  that  l)uilt  by  Solomon, 
These  respects  niiiiht  be  indicated;  but  could  not  be  specially  inter- 
esting or  profitable  to  the  reader. 


CHAPTER  XLII. 


This  chapter  closes  the  description  of  the  temple  proper. 

1.  Then  he  brought  me  forth  into  the  outer  court,  the 
way  toward  the  north :  and  he  brought  me  into  the  cham- 
ber that  ivas  over  against  the  separate  place,  and  which  ivas 
before  the  building  toward  the  north. 

2.  Before  the  length  of  a  hundred  cubits  was  the  north 
door,  and  the  breadth  tvas  fifty  cubits. 

3.  Over  against  the  twenty  cubits  which  %vcre  for  the 
inner  court,  and  over  against  the  i^avement  which  was  for 
.the  outer  court,  was  gallery  against  gallery  in  three  stories. 

4.  And  before  the  chambers  luas  a  walk  of  ten  cubits 
breadth  inward,  a  way  of  one  cubit ;  and  their  doors  toward 
the  north. 

5.  Now  the  upper  chambers  were  shorter;  for  the  galleries 
were  higher  than  these,  than  the  lower,  and  than  the  mid- 
dlemost of  the  building. 

6.  For  they  were  in  three  stories,  but  had  not  pillars  as 
the  pillars  of  the  courts :  therefore  the  huilding  was  strait- 
ened more  than  the  lowest  and  the  middlemost  from  the 
ground. 

7.  And  the  wall  that  was  without  over  against  the  cham- 
bers, toward  the  outer  court  on  the  forepart  of  the  cham- 
bers, the  length  thereof  %ms  fifty  cubits. 

8.  For  the  length  of  the  chambers  that  were  in  the  outer 
court  was  fifty  cubits:  and  lo,  before  the  temple  ivcre  a 
hundred  cubits. 

9.  And  from  under  these  chambers  tms  the  entry  on  the 
east  side,  as  one  goeth  into  them  from  the  outer  court. 

10.  The  chambers  ivere  in  the  thickness  of  the  wall  of 
the  court  toward  the  cast,  over  against  the  separate  place, 
and  over  against  the  building. 

11.  And  the  way  before  them  \ms  like  the  appearance 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XLII.  237 

of  the  chambers  which  were  toward  the  north,  as  long  as 
they,  and  as  broad  as  they:  and  all  their  goings  out  loere 
both  according  to  their  fashions,  and  according  to  their 
doors. 

12.  And  according  to  the  doors  of  the  chambers  that  were 
toward  the  south  was  a  door  in  the  head  of  the  way,  even 
the  way  directly  before  the  wall  toward  the  east,  as  one 
entereth  into  them. 

13.  Then  said  he  unto  me.  The  north  chambers  and  the 
south  chambers  which  are  before  the  separate  place,  they 
be  holy  chambers,  where  the  priests  that  approach  unto  the 
Lord  shall  eat  the  most  holy  things,  and  the  meat-offering, 
and  the  sin-offering,  and  the  trespass-offering ;  for  the  place 
is  holy. 

14.  When  the  priests  enter  therein,  then  shall  they  not  go 
out  of  the  holy  place  into  the  outer  court,  but  there  they  shall 
lay  their  garments  w^herein  they  minister;  for  they  are 
holy ;  and  shall  put  on  other  garments,  and  shall  approach 
to  those  tilings  which  are  for  the  people. 

15.  Now  when  he  had  made  an  end  of  measuring  the 
inner  house,  he  brought  me  forth  toward  the  gate  whose 
prospect  is  toward  the  east,  and  measured  it  round  about. 

16.  He  measured  the  east  side  with  the  measuring  reed, 
five  hundred  reeds,  with  the  measuring  reed  round  about. 

17.  He  measured  the  north  side,  five  hundred  reeds,  with 
the  measuring  reed  round  about. 

18.  He  measured  the  south  side,  five  hundred  reeds,  with 
the  measuring  reed. 

19.  He  turned  about  to  the  west  side,  and  measured  five 
hundred  reeds,  with  the  measuring  reed. 

20.  He  measured  it  by  the  four  sides :  it  had  a  wall 
round  about,  five  hundred  reeds  long,  and  five  hundred 
broad,  to  make  a  separation  between  the  sanctuary  and  the 
profane  place. 

The  point  of  chief  and  special  interest  in  this  part  of  the  descrip- 
tion is  the  manifest  care  taken  and  the  arrangements  made  to  iso- 
late holy  things  from  profane,  as  if  to  guard  henceforward  forever 
against  debasing  the  worship  of  God  and  against  all  contamination 
of  God's  people  by  contact  with  sin  and  its  temptations.  Thus 
(vs.  13,  14)  the  priests  have  special  chambers  where  none  but  them- 
selves may  eat  the  most  holy  things.  Their  sacred  ministrations 
are  to  be  performed  in  holy  garments,  to  be  laid  off  when  they 

come  before  the  people, ^Vs.  15-20  describe  an  area  outside  the 

holy  place  inclosed  by  a  wall  designed  to  "  make  a  separation  be- 


238  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XLIII. 

tween  the  sanctuary  and  the  profane  place." It  may  fitly  be 

noticed  that  while  the  temple  proper  corresponded  precisely  in 
dimensions  with  that  built  by  Solomon,  this  wall-inclosed  area  was 
vastly  larger,  viz.,  a  square  q^  Jive  hundred  reeds  or  nearly  one 
English  mile  on  each  side; — "considerably  larger  than  the  whole 

area  of  the  city  of  Jerusalem,  its  temple  included!" This  fact 

goes  far  to  show  that  this  temple  and  its  surroundings  were  simply 
ideal;  seen  in  vision  only,  and  never  designed  to  be  developed  into 
actual  reality.  Taken  ideally,  its  significance  is  obvious  and  perti- 
nent, and  is  forcibly  expressed. So  carefully  and  jealously  will 

God  guard  his  church  in  the  future  days  against  being  contami- 
nated with  sin.  Once  redeemed  and  sanctified  unto  Christ  and 
holiness,  they  will  be  "  kept  by  the  power  of  God  through  faith 
unto  salvation,"  Blessed  truth!  Obylously  in  the  nature  of  the 
case,  this  must  be  one  of  the  grand  features  of  the  Millennial  age — 
the  church  preserved  from  relapsing  into  worldliness  and  kept  near  to 
God.  What  is  indispensable  in  the  nature  of  the  case  to  a  glorious 
millennial  state,  it  is  pleasant  to  find  specially  indicated  here  in 
this  figurative  vision. 


CHAPTER  XLIII 


The  visible  glory  of  God  returns  to  dwell  in  this  new  temple 
(vs.  1-4) ;  the  Lord  states  to  the  people  the  conditions  on  which  he 
will  dwell  with  them  (vs.  5-11);  the  altar  is  measured  and  its 
ordinances  of  worship  described  (vs.  12-27). 

1.  Afterward  he  brought  me  to  the  gate,  even  the  gate 
that  looketli  toward  the  east: 

2.  And  behold,  the  glory  of  the  God  of  Israel  came  from 
the  way  of  the  east :  and  his  voice  %vas  like  a  noise  of  many 
waters :  and  the  earth  shined  with  his  glory. 

3.  And  it  ivas  according  to  the  appearance  of  the  vision 
which  I  saw,  even  according  to  the  vision  that  I  saw  when 
I  came  to  destroy  the  city:  and  the  visions  ')ucre  like  the 
vision  that  I  saw  by  the  river  Chebar ;  and  I  fell  upon  my 
face. 

4.  And  the  glory  of  the  Lord  came  into  the  house  by  the 
way  of  the  gate  whose  prospect  is  toward  the  east. 

The  prophet  is  careful  to  say  that  this  is  the  same  Shekinah, 
the  same  visible  glory  of  the  Lord,  which  he  had  seen  before,  both 
in  the  temple  and  also  withdrawing  from  it.    Compare  chap.  1:  1,  and 


3:  23,  and  10:  4,  and  especially  11:  22,  23. In  v,  3,  "when  I 

ne  to  destroy  the  city,    means,  when  I  c 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XLIII.  239 

struction,  as  (e.  g.^)  in  chaps.  8-11.  The  prophetsare  often  said 
to  do  what  they  only  predict  as  to  he  done.  Thus  in  chap.  32:  18 
the  Loi-d  directs  the  prophet  not  only  to  "wail  for  the  multitude  of 
Egypt,"  but  to  "  cast  them  down  unto  the  nether  parts  of  the  earth," 
although  his  hand  had  never  reached  them,  and  he  only  predicted 
their  fall.  Jacob,  predicting  the  future  life  of  Simeon  and  Levi 
(Gen.  49  :  7),  said,  "I  will  divide  them  in  Jacob  and  scatter  them  in 
Israel;  "  yet  he  did  this  only  in  the  sense  o^ predicting  it.  See  also 
Isa.  6 :  10,  and  Jer.  1 :  10. 

5.  So  the  spirit  took  me  up,  and  brought  me  into  the  inner 
court ;  and  behold,  the  glory  of  the  Lord  filled  the  house. 

6.  And  I  heard  liim  speaking  unto  me  out  of  the  house ; 
and  the  man  stood  by  me. 

7.  And  he  said  unto  me.  Son  of  man,  the  place  of  my 
throne,  and  the  place  of  the  soles  of  my  feet,  where  I  will  dwell 
in  the  midst  of  the  children  of  Israel  forever,  and  my  holy 
name,  shall  the  house  of  Israel  no  more  defile,  neither  they, 
nor  their  kings,  by  their  whoredoms,  nor  by  the  carcasses  of 
their  kings  in  their  high  places. 

8.  In  their  setting  of  their  threshold  by  my  thresholds, 
and  their  post  by  my. posts,  and  the  wall  between  me  and 
them,  they  have  even  defiled  my  holy  name  by  their  abom- 
inations that  they  have  committed :  wherefore  I  have  con- 
sumed them  in  mine  anger. 

9.  Now,  let  them  put  away  their  whoredoni,  and  the  car- 
casses of  their  kings,  far  from  me,  and  I  will  dwell  in  the 
midst  of  them  forever. 

10.  Thou  son  of  man,  shew  the  house  to  the  house  of 
Israel,  that  they  may  be  ashamed  of  their  iniquities :  and 
let  them  measure  the  pattern. 

11.  And  if  they  be  ashamed  of  all  that  they  have  done, 
shew  them  the  form  of  the  house,  and  the  fashion  thereof, 
and  the  goings  out  thereof,  and  the  comings  in  thereof,  and 
all  the  forms  thereof,  and  all  the  ordinances  thereof,  and  all 
the  forms  thereof,  and  all  the  laws  thereof:  and  write  it  in 
their  sight,  that  they  may  keep  the  whole  form  thereof,  and 
all  the  ordinances  thereof,  and  do  them. 

The  allusion  to  the  "place  of  his  throne"  (vs.  7,  8)  and  to 
their    kings    as    having   defiled   God's    sanctuary    by    setting   up 

idol  gods  there  looks  to  Manasseh.     See  2  Kings  21 :_  4-7. These 

verses  are  specially  valuable  as  revealing  the  conditions  on  which 
alone  the  Lord  would  return  and  continue  to  dwell_  among  his  peo- 
ple. They  must — absolutely  must  put  away  their  sins  and  bo 
ashamed  of  their  iniquities.     If  they  consented  heartily  to  these 


240  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XLIII. 

conditions,  the  pi'ophet  was  to  show  them  the  form  of  the  house, 
and  all  that  the  Lord  had  revealed  of  this  new  temple,  and  of  its 
ordinances  of  worship  as  a  pledge  of  his  own  restoring  mercy  and 

his  return  to  dwell  among  them. This  was  specially  pertinent  to 

the  exiles  among  whom  the  prophet  lived,  and  shows  that  the  Lord 
designed  this  vision  to  bear  vigorously  upon  the  hearts  of  that  peo- 
ple then  and  there. 

12.  This  is  the  law  of  the  house ;  Upon  the  top  of  the 
mountain,  the  whole  limit  thereof  round  about  shall  be  most 
holy.     Behold,  this  is  the  law  of  the  house. 

This  temple  stood  on  a  mountain.  So  did  that  of  Solomon, 
though  this  appears  to  have  been  the  loftier  one.  The  whole  area 
of  this  mountain  top  was  most  holy  as  being  the  place  where  the 
Lord  Jehovah  truly  dwelt. The  subsequent  verses  of  this  chap- 
ter describe  the  great  altar,  and  give  the  ordinances  to  regulate  the 
sacrilices  upon  it. 

13.  And  these  m^e  the  measures  of  the  altar  after  the 
cubits :  The  cubit  is  a  cubit  and  a  hand-breadth ;  even  the 
bottom  shall  be  a  cubit,  and  the  breadth  a  cubit,  and  the 
border  thereof  by  the  edge  thereof  round  about  shall  be  a 
span :  and  this  shall  be  the  higher  place  of  the  altar. 

14.  And  from  the  bottom  upon  the  ground  even  to  the 
lower  settle  shall  be  two  cubits,  and  the  breadth  one  cubit ; 
and  from  the  lesser  settle  even  to  the  greater  settle  shall  be 
four  cubits,  and  the  breadth  one  cubit. 

15.  So  the  altar  shall  be  four  cubits;  and  from  the  altar 
and  upward  shall  be  four  horns. 

16.  And  the  altar  shall  be  twelve  cubits  long,  twelve 
'broad,  square  in  the  four  squares  thereof. 

17.  And  the  settle  shall  be  fourteen  cubits  long  and  four- 
teen broad  in  the  four  squares  thereof;  and  the  border 
about  it  shall  be  half  a  cubit;  and  the  bottom  thereof  shall 
be  a  cubit  about ;  and  the  stairs  shall  look  tOAvard  the  east. 

18.  And  he  said  unto  me,  Son  of  man,  thus  saith  the 
Lord  God ;  These  are  the  ordinances  of  the  altar  in  the 
day  when  they  shall  make  it,  to  offer  burnt-offerings  there- 
on, and  to  sprinkle  blood  thereon. 

19.  And  thou  shalt  give  to  the  priests  the  Levites  that 
be  of  the  seed  of  Zadok,  which  approach  unto  me,  to  min- 
ister unto  me,  saith  the  Lord  God,  a  young  bullock  for  a 
sin-offering. 

20.  And  thou  shalt  take  of  the  blood  thereof,  and  put  it  on 
the  four  liorns  of  it,  and  on  the*  four  corners  of  the  settle, 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XLIV.  241 

and  upon  the  border  round  about :  thus  shalt  thou  cleanse 
and  purge  it. 

21.  Thou  shalt  take  the  bullock  also  of  the  sin-offering, 
and  he  shall  burn  it  in  the  appointed  place  of  the  house, 
without  the  sanctuary. 

22.  And  on  the  second  day  thou  shalt  offer  a  kid  of  the 
goats  without  blemish  for  a  sin-offering;  and  they  shall 
cleanse  the  altar,  as  they  did  cleanse  it  with  the  bullock. 

23.  AVhen  thou  hast  made  an  end  of  cleansing  it,  thou 
shalt  offer  a  young  bullock  without  blemish,  and  a  ram  of 
the  flock  without  blemish. 

24.  And  thou  shalt  offer  them  before  the  Lord,  and  the 
priests  shalt  cast  salt  upon  them,  and  they  shall  offer  them 
up  /o?'  a  burnt-offering  unto  the  Lord. 

25.  Seven  days  shalt  thou  prepare  every  day  a  goat  for 
a  sin-offering :  they  shall  also  prepare  a  young  bullock, 
and  a  ram  out  of  the  flock,  without  blemish. 

26.  Seven  days  shall  they  purge  the  altar  and  purify  it; 
and  they  shall  consecrate  themselves. 

27.  And  when  these  days  are  expired,  it  shall  be,  that 
upon  the  eighth  day,  and  so  forward,  the  priests  shall  make 
your  burnt-offerings  upon  the  altar,  and  your  peace-offer- 
ings :  and  I  will  accept  you,  saith  the  Lord  God.  . 


CHAPTER  XLIV. 


After  a  single  direction  for  the  prince,  briefly  stated  (vs.  1-3), 
this  chapter  proceeds  to  define  the  ceremonial  laws  and  regulations 
for  the  priests. 

1.  Then  he  brought  me  back  the  way  of  the  gate  of  the 
outward  sanctuary  which  looketh  toward  the  east;  and  it 
was  shut. 

2.  Then  said  the  Lord  unto  me :  This  gate  shall  be  shut, 
it  shall  not  be  opened,  and  no  man  shall  enter  in  by  it ;  be- 
cause the  Lord  the  God  of  Israel  hath  entered  in  by  it, 
therefore  it  shall  be  shut. 

3.  If  is  for  the  prince ;  the  prince,  he  shall  sit  in  it  to  eat 
bread  before  the  Lord;  he  shall  enter  by  the  way  of  the 
porch  of  that  gate,  and  shall  go  out  by  the  way  of  the  same. 

Through  this  eastern  gate,  now  seen  shut,  the  visible  glory  of 
Jehovah  had  passed  when  he  entered  this  temple.     (See  chap.  43 : 
11 


242  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XLIV. 

1-4).  Consequently  no  man  might  enter  by  this  gate  save  the 
prince.  In  chap.  46:  2,  12,  is  a  renewed  allusion  to  this  special 
rule,  opening  this  gate  to  the  prince  for  his  entrance  to  worship, 
but  to  none  other.  The  case  indicates  that  an  extraordinary  sanc- 
tity attached  to  the  prince.  Does  not  this  look  toward  the  exalted 
character  of  the  future  Prince  of  the  Lord's  people — the  Great  Ln- 
manuel  ? 

4.  Then  brought  he  me  the  way  of  the  nortli-gate  before 
the  house :  and  I  looked,  and  behold,  the  glory  of  the  Lord 
filled  the  house  of  the  Lord :  and  I  fell  upon  my  face. 

5.  And  the  Lord  said  unto  me,  Son  of  man,  mark  well, 
and  behold  with  thine  eyes,  and  hear  with  thine  ears  all 
that  I  say  unto  thee  concerning  all  the  ordinances  of  the 
house  of  the  Lord,  and  all  the  laws  thereof;  and  mark  well 
the  entering  in  of  the  house,  with  every  going  forth  of  the 
sanctuary ; 

Again,  approaching  from  the  north,  the  prophet  in  vision  is  im- 
pressed with  a  sense  of  the  glory  of  Jehovah  as  filling  his  temple, 
and  he  falls  upon  his  fiice  in  profound  adoration.  This  case  antic- 
ipates the  great*  truth  brought  out  so  distinctively  at  the  close  of 
this  entire  vision,  which  indeed  is  the  central  thought  throughout, 
viz.,  that  God  dwells  among  his  ]->eople  hy  his  spiritual  presence  and 
glory.      The  name  of  the  whole  city  shall  be,  "  The  Lord  is  there.'' 

This  being  chief  in  importance    gave  name  to  the  city. Now 

the  Lord  solemnly  charges  the  prophet  to  mark  well  ("set  his  heart 
upon")  all  he  was  about  to  say  in  respect  to  the  modes  of  worship 
in  this  temple  and  in  respect  to  entering  and  leaving  it. 

6.  And  thou  shalt  say  to  the  rebellious,  even  to  the  house 
of  Israel,  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God;  O  ye  house  of  Israel, 
let  it  sufiice  you  of  all  your  abominations ; 

7.  In  that  ye  have  brought  into  my  sanctuary  strangers, 
uncircumcised  in  heart,  and  uncircumcised  in  flesh,  to  be  in 
my  sanctuary,  to  pollute  it,  even  my  house,  wdien  ye  ofier 
my  bread,  the  fixt  and  the  blood,  and  they  have  broken  my 
covenant  because  of  all  your  abominations. 

8.  And  ye  have  not  kept  the  charge  of  my  holy  things : 
but  ye  have  set  keepers  of  my  charge  in  my  sanctuary  for 
yourselves. 

Let  your  past  abominations  suffice ;  let  them  be  deemed  enough ; 
let  there  be  no  more  I  Ye  have  brought  into  my  temple  to  officiate 
there,  men  of  impure  heart — a  thing  that  God  can  not  endure!  Ye 
have  pleased  yourselves  and  not  me ;  ye  have  made  your  own  laws 
and  have  not  kept  mine  in  your  choice  of  priests  and  in  your 
rules  for  their  service.  Iliis,  which  I  ta^e  to  bo  the  sense  of  v.  8, 
may  look  historically  to  Jeroboam,  who  (1  Kings  12:  31-33)  "made 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XLIV.  243 

Eriests  of  the  lowest  of  the  people  who  were  not  of  the  sons  of 
levi." The  case  admonishes  the  people  of  God  to  guard  most 

vigilantly  against  the  introduction  of  ungodly  men  into  the  sacred 
office  of  the  gospel  ministry.  The  future  prosperity  and  purity  of 
Zion  turn  upon  this  to  an  extent  not  easily  overestimated. 

9.  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God;  No  stranger,  uncircumcised 
in  heart,  nor  uncircumcised  in  flesh,  shall  enter  into  my 
sanctuary,  of  any  stranger  that  is  among  the  children  of 
Israel. 

10.  And  the  Levites  that  are  gone  away  far  from  me, 
when  Israel  went  astray,  w^hich  went  astray  away  from  me 
after  their  idols ;  they  shall  even  bear  their  iniquity. 

11.  Yet  they  shall  be  ministers  in  my  sanctuary,  having 
charge  at  the  gates  of  the  house,  and  ministering  to  the 
house :  they  shall  slay  the  burnt-offering  and  the  sacrifice 
for  the  people,  and  they  shall  stand  before  them  to  minister 
unto  them. 

12.  Because  they  ministered  unto  them  before  their  idols, 
and  caused  the  house  of  Israel  to  fall  into  iniquity ;  there- 
fore have  I  lifted  up  my  hand  against  them,  saith  the  Lord 
God,  and  they  shall  bear  their  iniquity. 

13.  And  they  shall  not  come  near  unto  me,  to  do  the 
office  of  a  priest  unto  me,  nor  to  come  near  to  any  of  my 
holy  things,  in  the  most  holy  place:  but  they  shall  bear 
their  shame,  and  their  abominations  wdiicli  they  have  com- 
mitted. 

14.  But  I  will  make  them  keepers  of  the  charge  of  the 
house,  for  all  the  service  thereof,  and  for  all  that  shall  be 
done  therein. 

15.  But  the  priests  the  Levites,  the  sons  of  Zadok,  that 
kept  the  charge  of  my  sanctuary  w^lien  the  children  of  Israel 
went  astray  from  me,  they  shall  come  near  to  me  to  minister 
unto  me,  and  they  shall  stand  before  me  to  offer  unto  me  the 
fat  and  the  blood,  saith  the  Lord  God : 

16.  They  shall  enter  into  my  sanctuary,  and  they  shall 
come  near  to  my  table,  to  minister  unto  me,  and  they  shall 
keep  my  charge. 

Strangers  residing  in  Israel,  but  of  uncircumcised  heart,  must  by 
no  means  be  permitted  to  enter  the  Lord's  sanctuary.  The  Levites 
who  had  apostatized  into  idolatry  must  bear  the  punishment  of  this 
great  iniquity.  They  were  forbidden  to  come  near  before  the  Lord, 
but  were  assigned  to  the  more  remote  and  less  hallowed  and  hon- 
ored services  of  the  sanctuary.  They  were  to  minister  in  the  pres- 
ence of  their  more  favored  brethren,  the  priests,  as  their  servants ; 


244  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XLIV. 

but  might  not  come  specially  near  to  the  Lord.  To  the  sons  of 
Zadok  who  had  not  thus  apostatized  was  assigned  the  distinguished 
honor  of  coming  near  to  minister  before  the  very  presence  of  the 
divine  majesty.  This  discrimination  had  a  most  significant  and 
earnest  moral  bearing.  "Holiness  becometh  God's  house  forever." 
The  favored  ones  there  are  the  men  of  lowly  heart  who  live  near  to 
God,  walking  softly  before  him. 

17.  And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  that  when  they  enter  in  at 
the  gates  of  the  inner  court,  they  shall  be  clothed  -with  linen 
garments;  and  no  wool  shall  come  upon  them,  while  they 
minister  in  the  gates  of  the  inner  court,  and  within. 

18.  They  shall  have  linen  bonnets  upon  their  heads,  and 
shall  have  linen  breeches  upon  their  loins ;  they  shall  not 
gird  themselves  with  any  thing  that  causeth  sweat. 

19.  And  when  they  go  forth  into  the  outer  court,  even 
into  the  outer  court  to  the  people,  they  shall  put  off  their 
garments  wherein  they  ministered,  and  lay  them  in  the  holy 
chambers,  and  they  shall  put  on  other  garments ;  and  they 
shall  not  sanctify  the  people  with  their  garments. 

Outward  purity  symbolizes  inward;  the  purity  of  the  person,  that 
of  the  heart.  Hence  linen  rather  than  woolen  garments  were  pre- 
scribed. Sweat  as  indicating  impurity  must  be  avoided.  Special 
garments  were  assigned  to  be  worn  exclusively  before  the  Lord,  to 
be  exchanged  for  others  when  they  came  before  the  people.  The 
last  clause  of  v.  19  means,  they  shall  not  sanctify  the  people  minis- 
tering in  their  ordinary  garments,  but  only  while  wearing  their 
sacred  vestments. 

20.  Neither  shall  they  shave  their  heads,  nor  suffer  their 
locks  to  grow  long;  they  shall  only  poll  their  heads. 

In  respect  to  the  hair  of  their  head,  they  must  take  a  medium 
course,  not  shaving  it  close,  nor  wearing  it  long  and  dishevelled 
without  cutting.     A  decent  propriety  befits  God's" house. 

21.  Neither  shall  any  priest  drink  wine,  when  they  enter 
into  the  inner  court. 

The  priest  must  not  drink  wine  when  about  to  enter  into  the 
inner  court  of  the  temple.  The  excitement  of  wine,  even  though 
falling  much  short  of  intoxication,  ministers  often  to  manifold  im- 
proprieties which  are  by  no  means  becoming  in  the  near  presence 
of  .lehovah. The  case  should  solemnly  admonish  gospel  minis- 
ters to  abjure  even  the  least  alcoholic  stimulus,  both  when  they  are 
preparing  to  preach  and  when  they  are  preaching  in  the  name  of 
the  Lord.  No  doul)t  it  is  wise  fur  them  never  to  drink  wine  as  a 
beverage,  and  never  at  all  unless  in  rare  cases  of  sickness. 

22.  Neither  shall  they  take  for  their  wives  a  widow,  nor 
her  that  is  put  away:  but  they  shall  take  maidens  of  the 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XLIV.  245 

seed  of  the  house  of  Israel,  or  a  Avidow  that  had  a  priest 
before. 

Under  the  law  of  Moses  (Lev.  21 :  13,  14)  similar  restrictions — 
the  same  excepting  that  in  the  last  clause — were  applied  to  the  hi_ij;li- 
priest.  Here  they  apply  to  all  priests.  The  difference  indicates  tlic 
increased  care  and  caution  to  be  used  under  the  great  Messiah's 
reign  to  keep  his  servants  morally  pure. 

23.  And  they  shall  teach  my  people  the  difference  between 
the  holy  and  profane,  and  cause  them  to  discern  between 
the  unclean  and  the  clean. 

Under  the  ancient  economy,  the  ceremonial  distinction  between 
the  holy  and  the  profane,  the  clean  and  the  unclean,  had  the  high 
moral  purpose  of  training  the  mind  to  recognize  the  distinction  be- 
tween holiness  and  sin.  This  same  distinction  it  must  be  the  great 
duty  of  God's  servants  in  the  millennial  age  to  teach  and  to  enforce. 

24.  And  in  controversy  they  shall  stand  in  judgment; 
and  they  shall  judge  it  according  to  my  judgments :  and 
they  shall  keep  my  law^s  and  my  statutes  in  all  mine  assem- 
blies ;  and  they  shall  hallow  my  sabbaths. 

Under  the  law  given  through  Moses,  the  distinction  recognized 
in  modern  times  between  civil  and  religious  statutes  was  scarcely 
known.  The  priests  and  Levitos  were  then  judges  of  civil  cases. 
See  Deut,  17:  8-13,  and  2  Chron.  19:  8-11.     Hence  naturally  the 

same  system  obtains  here. "In  controversy,"  means  not  a  verbal 

dispute  but  a  legal  prosecution — a  case  in  court.  I  translate;  "In 
cases  of  trial  at  law,  they  (the  priests)  shall  stand  for  judgment" 
{i.  e.,  shall  perform  the  functions  of  judge),  "and  they  shall 
judge  them  (the  people)  according  to  my  statutes,"  etc. 

25.  And  they  shall  come  at  no  dead  person  to  defile 
themselves :  but  for  father,  or  for  mother,  or  for  son,  or 
for  daughter,  for  brother,  or  for  sister  that  hath  had  no 
husband,  they  may  defile  themselves. 

26.  And  after  he  is  cleansed,  they  shall  reckon  unto  him 
seven  days. 

27.  And  in  the  day  that  he  goeth  into  the  sanctuary, 
unto  the  inner  court,  to  minister  in  the  sanctuary,  he  shall 
offer  his  sin-offering,  saith  the  Lord  God. 

No  form  of  ceremonial  unclcanncss  was  accounted  more  flagrant 
than  that  which  comes  from  contact  with  a  dead  body  or  near  ap- 
proach to  one.  Hence  promiscuous  mourning  for  the  dead  and  at- 
tendance upon  these  funeral  solemnities  were  strictly  forbidden  to 
the  priests,  the  law  defining  by  name  the  near  relatives  for  whom 
they  might  mourn.  The  same  reason  is  here,  to  indicate  the  moral 
purity  which  will  characterize  the  future  kingdom  of  the  Messiah. 


246  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XLV. 

28.  And  it  shall  be  unto  them  for  an  inheritance :  I  am 
their  inheritance:  and  ye  shall  give  them  no  possession  in 
Israel :  I  am  their  possession. 

29.  They  shall  eat  the  meat-offering,  and  the  sin-oifering, 
and  the  trespass-offering;  and  every  dedicated  thing  in 
Israel  shall  be  theirs. 

30.  And  the  first  of  all  the  first-fruits  of  all  things,  and 
every  oblation  of  all,  of  every  sort  of  your  oblations,  shall 
be  the  priest's :  ye  shall  also  give  unto  the  priest  the  first 
of  your  dough,  that  he  may  cause  the  blessing  to  rest  in 
thy  house. 

31.  The  priests  shall  not  eat  of  any  thing  that  is  dead 
of  itself,  or  torn,  whether  it  be  fowl  or  beast. 

In  V.  28,  "  it  shall  be  to'  them  for  an  inheritance,"  means  that 
their  service  in  the  temple  of  God  and  in  his  institutions  shall  be 
their  portion,  their  estate,  their  living  and  their  wealth.  They 
were  to  have  subsistence  from  the  altar  and  from  the  tithes  which 
the  law  prescribed.  Beyond  this  they  had  no  inheritance.  From 
landed  estates  the  Lord  purposely  debarred  them.  This  was  also 
the  doctrine  of  the  ancient  Mosaic  system. 


CHAPTER  XLV. 

The  TiOrd  sets  apart  a  large  and  well-defined  portion  of  the  land 
for  specially  sacred  uses  (vs.  1-8) ;  admonishes  the  princes  against 
unjust  exactions  from  the  people  and  provides  a  system  of  weights 
and  measures  (vs.  9-1:2);  and  specifies  certain  religious  ceremonial 
observances  (vs.  13-25). 

1.  Moreover,  when  ye  shall  divide  by  lot  the  land  for 
inheritance,  ye  shall  offer  an  oblation  unto  the  Lord,  a 
holy  portion  of  the  land :  the  length  shall  he  the  length 
of  five  and  twenty  thousand  reeds,  and  the  breadth  shall  he 
ten  thousand.  This  shall  he  holy  in  all  the  borders  thereof 
round  about. 

2.  Of  this  there  shall  be  for  the  sanctuary  five  hundred 
in  length,  with  five  hundred  in  breadth,  square  round  about; 
and  fifty  cubits  round  about  for  the  suburbs  thereof 

3.  And  of  this  measure  shalt  thou  measure  the  length 
of  five  and  twenty  thousand,  and  the  breadth  of  ten  thou- 
sand :  and  in  it  shall  be  th»  sanctuary  and  the  most  holy 
place. 

4.  The  holy  ])ortlon  of  the  laud  shall  be  for  the  priests, 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XLV.  247 

the  ministers  of  the  sanctuary,  which  shall  come  near  to 
minister  unto  the  Lord:  and  it  shall  be  a  place  for  their 
houses,  and  a  holy  place  for  the  sanctuary. 

5.  And  the  five  and  twenty  thousand  of  length,  and  the 
ten  thousand  of  breadth,  shall  also  the  Levites,  the  minis- 
ters of  the  house,  have  for  themselves,  for  a  possession  for 
twenty  chambers. 

6.  And  ye  shall  appoint  the  possession  of  the  city  five 
thousand  broad,  and  five  and  twenty  thousand  long,  over 
against  the  oblation  of  the  holy  ijortion :  it  shall  be  for  the 
whole  house  of  Israel. 

7.  And  a  portion  shall  be  for  the  prince  on  the  one  side 
and  on  the  other  s±de  of  the  oblation  of  the  holy  portion, 
and  of  the  possession  of  the  city,  before  the  oblation  of  the 
holy  portion,  and  before  the  possession  of  the  city,  from 
the  west  side  westward,  and  from  the  east  side  eastward: 
and  the  length  shall  he  over  against  one  of  the  portions, 
from  the  west  border  unto  the  east  border. 

8.  In  the  land  shall  be  his  possession  in  Israel :  and  my 
princes  shall  no  more  oppress  my  people ;  and  the  rest  of 
the  land  shall  they  give  to  the  house  of  Israel  according 
to  their  tribes. 

In  full  harmony  with  the  genius  though  varying  from  the  forms 
of  the  Mosaic  system,  we  have  here  the  extraordinary  feature  of  a 
very  large  portion  of  the  whole  land,  a  little  less  than  half  of  it, 
set  apart  for  public  uses,  more  or  less  sacred,  the  object  apparently 
being  to  wall  in  the  sacred  institutions  of  religion  so  effectually  as 
to  shut  off  from  the  church  the  corrupting  influences  of  the  world. 

As  to  the  dimensions  of  this  vast  reserved  square  of  tAVcnty- 

five  thousand  reeds  in  length  and  breadth,  I  shall  assume,  in  the 
absence  of  any  Hebrew  term  for  it,  that  this  ^^reed"  (v.  1)  corre- 
sponds with  that  defined  in  chap.  40:  5 ;  viz.,  six  cubits  and  a  hand 
breadth;  i.  e.^  proximately  ten  and  a  half  feet  in  length.  This  may 
be  assumed  with  the  greater  confidence  because  both  the  measur- 
ing reed  and  the  man  who  bore  it  are  made  very  prominent  in  the 
opening  of  this  vision  (chap.  40:  3,  5).  There  can  scarcely  be  a 
douljt  that  the  same  standard  of  measure  obtains  throughout  this 
entire  vision.  By  this  standard,  the  "oblation"  will  be  a  square 
of  forty-nine  and  seventy-one  hundredths  miles  on  each  side,  vary- 
ing only  a  small  fraction  from  the  average  breadth  of  Palestine 
proper  from,  the  Mediterranean  sea  to  the  Jordan  valley.  Antici- 
pating here  from  chapter  48  the  geographical  location  of  the  tribes, 
the  entire  allotment  of  the  territory  may  be  readily  seen  from  the 
following  diagram  copied  from  Rosenmueller  and  supposed  to  bo 

proximately  correct. The  reader  will  be  struck  with  the  perfect 

regularity  which  rules  throughout.      The  entire  territory  is  sup- 


248 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XLV. 


D  I  A  a  K  A  M 

OF   riiK 

HOLY  LAND  AND  THE  SACKED  PLAGES, 

ACCORDING    TO    EZEKIEL. 

(FEOM  KOSENMUELLEK.) 


3<roE/m3:. 


Dan. 


Aslier. 


Naphtali. 


Manasseh. 


Epbraim. 


Reuben. 


Juclali. 


Beniamin. 


Simeon. 


Issachar. 


Zebulon. 


Gad. 


1 

Levites. 

1 

Priests. 

rricsts. 

P 

o 

t 

o 

Temple. 

o 

1 

fu 

Laborei-s  of 

the  city. 

City. 

SOTJTIi. 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XLV.  2-19 

posed  to  be  of  uniform  width;  twenty-five  thousand  reeds  (about 
fifty  miles) ;  each  tribe  has  its  o\Yn  narrow  belt,  stretching  across 
the  entire  Avidth.  Beginning  at  the  north  end,  seven  tribes  have 
their  portion  north  of  the  "holy  oblation"  or  reserve;  then  the 
Levites  have  a  very  ample  territor}'-  twenty  miles  Avide  on  the 
northern  part  of  this  reserve ;  and  the  city  Avith  its  laboring  popu- 
lation, half  as  much — ten  miles  wide — on  its  southern  border; 
inclosing  between  thepi  the  territory  of  the  priests,  twenty  miles 
wide,  in  the  middle  of  which  stood  the  temple.     Spacious  territory 

is  assigned  to  the  prince  at  each  end  of  this  sacred  reserve. 

Under  the  Mosaic  economy  and  in  the  distribution  of  the  land  of 
Canaan  by  Joshua,  no  proA'ision  whatever  was  specially  made  for 
the  king  or  "prince."  It  Avould  then  have  been  premature.  Here 
it  is  timely  and  is  made  prominent.  The  "prince"  is  a  prominent 
character  in  this  new  regime.  The  prophecies  of  Zechariah  also 
foreshadow  this  prominence.  With  him,  however,  royalty  and 
priesthood  reside  in  the  same  glorious  personage.  He  shall  not 
only  build  the  temple  of  the  Lord,  but  "shall  bear  glory"  (pre- 
eminent glory),  and  shall  sit  and  rule  upon  his  throne,  and  shall 
be  a  priest  on  his  throne,  and  be  croAvned  as  both  king  and 
priest  (Zech.  6 :  12,  13).  This  millennial  state  being  the  result  of 
the  glorious  reign  of  the  Messiah,  the  Prince  of  Peace,  its  strong 
points  could  not  be  presented  without  giving  great  prominence  to 
"  the  j:9nn(7g." 

9.  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God ;  Let  it  suflfice  you,  O  princes 
of  Israel:  remove  violence  and  spoil,  and  execute  judgment 
and  justice,  take  away  your  exactions  from  my  people,  saith 
the  Lord  Grod, 

10.  Ye  shall  have  just  balances,  and  a  just  ephah,  and  a 
just  bath. 

11.  The  ephah  and  the  bath  shall  be  of  one  measure,  that 
the  bath  may  contain  the  tenth  part  of  a  homer,  and  the 
ephah  the  tenth  part  of  a  homer :  the  measure  thereof  shall 
be  after  the  homer. 

12.  And  the  shekel  shall  he  tA\'enty  gerahs:  tAventy  shekels, 
five  and  tAventy  shekels,  fifteen  shekels,  shall  be  your  maneh. 

"  "With  an  eye  to  the  human  relations  of  this  prince  and  as  if 
mindful  of  such  oppressive  exactions  as  that  of  Ahab  from  Naboth, 
and  of  Jehoiakim  from  his  people  (Jer.  22:  13-19)  and  to  forestall 
the  temptations  to  this  sin,  the  Lord  specially  provides  lor  the  prince 
an  ample  territory  and  solemnly  admonishes  him  against  exacting 
from  the  people  their  land.  See  also  chap.  48:  18.  A  complete  sys- 
tem of  standard  weights  and  measures  is  exceedingly  A-aluable  as  a 
check  on  human  selfishness  and  a  means  of  securing  exact  justice 
in  trade  and  exchange.  It  is  not  specially  important  that  we  should 
be  able  to  compare  those  weights  and  measures  Avith  our  own,  or 
knoAV  their  absolute  quantities.     It  is  both  the  less  important  and 


250  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XLV. 

the  more  difficult  to  settle  these  points  because  we  can  not  assume 
that  this  system  was  the  same  as  the  ancient  Jewish  one.  Probably  it 
is  purely  ideal,  never  to  be  actual ;  hence  I  pass  it.  Let  it  suffice  us 
to  learn  from  this  passa,i^e  that  in  the  bette^  times  of  the  tjospel  age, 
religion  will  not  be  in  anywise  divorced  from  morality,  but  Christians, 
however  high  in  power,  will  hold  themselves  closely  and  conscien- 
tiously to  fair  and  just  dealings  in  business  with  all  men.  No  man 
will  be  accounted  religious  who  is  not  j\ist.  No  amount  of  piouc 
feeling  or  religious  profession  will  atone  for  the  lack  of  intrinsic 
honesty. 

13.  This  is  the  oblation  that  ye  shall  offer;  the  sixth  \)^Yi 
of  an  ephah  of  a  homer  of  wheat,  and  ye  shall  give  the 
sixth  jxirt  of  an  ej^hah  of  a  homer  of  barley ; 

14.  Concerning  the  ordinance  of  oil,  the  bath  of  oil,  yc 
shall  offer  the  tenth  part  of  a  bath  ont  of  the  cor,  ivhich  is 
a  homer  of  ten  baths :  for  ten  baths  are  a  homer : 

15.  And  one  lamb  out  of  the  flock,  out  of  two  hundred, 
out  of  the  fat  pastures  of  Israel ;  for  a  meat-offering,  and  for 
a  burnt-offering,  and  for  peace-offerings,  to  make  reconcilia- 
tion for  them,  saith  the  Lord  God. 

16.  All  the  peoj^le  of  the  land  shall  give  this  oblation  for 
the  prince  in  Israel. 

17.  And  it  shall  be  the  prince's  part  to  give  burnt-offerings, 
and  meat-offerings,  and  drink-offerings,  in  the  feasts,  and  in 
the  new-moons,  and  in  the  sabbaths,  in  all  solemnities  of  the 
house  of  Israel:  he  shall  prepare  the  sin-offering,  and  the 
meat-offering,  and  the  burnt  offering,  and  the  peace-offer- 
ings, to  make  reconciliation  for  the  house  of  Israel. 

18.  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God;  In  the  first  month,  in  the 
first  dcuj  of  the  month,  thou  slialt  take  a  young  bullock 
without  blemish,  and  cleanse  the  sanctuary: 

19.  And  the  priest  shall  take  of  the  blood  of  the  sin- 
offering,  and  put  it  upon  the  posts  of  the  house,  and  upon 
the  four  corners  of  the  settle  of  the  altar,  and  upon  the  posts 
of  the  gate  of  the  inner  court. 

20.  And  so  thou  shalt  do  the  seventh  day  of  the  month 
for  every  one  that  erreth,  and  for  him  that  is  simple:  so  shall 
ye  reconcile  the  house. 

21.  In  the  first  month  in  the  fourteenth  day  of  the  month, 
ye  shall  have  the  passover,  a  feast  of  seven  days;  unleavened 
bread  shall  be  eaten. 

22.  And  upon  that  day  shall  the  prince  prepare  for  him- 
self and  for  all  the  people  of  the  land  a  bullock  for  a  sin- 
offering. 


I 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XLVI.  251 

23.  And  seven  days  of  the  feast  he  shall  prepare  a  burnt- 
offering  to  the  Lord,  seven  bullocks  and  seven  rams  without 
blemish  daily  the  seven  days;  and  a  kid  of  the  goats  daily 
joT  a  sin-offering. 

24.  And  he  shall  prepare  a  meat-offering  of  an  ephah  for 
a  bullock,  and  an  ephah  for  a  ram,  and  an  hin  of  oil  for 
an  ephah. 

25.  In  the  seventh  months  in  the  fifteenth  day  of  the 
month,  shall  he  do  the  like  in  the  feast  of  the  seven  days, 
according  to  the  sin-offering,  according  to  the  burnt-offering, 
and  according  to  the  meat-offering,  and  according  to  the  oil. 

The  "meat-offerings"  (so  called)  were  of  flour,  not  of  flesh. 
"Meat"  is  one  of  those  words  which  time  has  changed  so  that  the 
"meat-offering"  of  ancient  times  had  no  meat  in  our  modern  sense 

in  it. In  vs.  17,  20,  the  word  rendered,  "  to  make  reconciliation;" 

"to  reconcile  the  house;"  is  the  precise  word  most  used  for  making 
atonement  for  sin — covering  it  from  the  view,  the  reprobation  and  the 

curse,  of  a  just  God. The  prince  is  to  be  specially  active  in  the 

religious  sacrifices  of  these  times;  a  leader  of  the  people  in  their 

public  worship. Isaiah  had   already  said   in  the   same  strain; 

"Kings  shall  be  thy  nursing  fathers,  and  their  queens  thy  nursing 
mothers;"  also;  "I  will  make  thy  officers  peace  and  thine  exactors 

righteousness  "  (chap.  49  :  23  and  60 :  17.) Among  these  specially 

sacred  seasons  the  reader  will  recognise  the  "new  moon"  (vs.  18, 
19),  the  Passover  (vs.  21-24)  and  the  feast  of  tabernacles  (vs.  25). 


CHAPTEE  XLVI. 


Here  arc  special  ordinances  prescribing  who  may  pass  through 
the  glorious  eastern  gate,  through  which  the  Shckinah  had  passed ; 
also  when  and  how  (vs.  1-3,  12);  how  the  people  may  enter  the 
temple  (vs.  9, 10);  various  ordinances  in  respect  to  "meat-offerings" 
to  accompany  the  bloody  sacrifices;  how  the  prince  may  entail  his 
real  estate  (vs.  16-18);  and  the  provision  of  apartments  for  cooking 
(vs.  19-24). 

1.  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God ;  The  gate  of  the  inner  court 
that  lookcth  toward  the  east,  shall  be  shut  the  six  working 
days ;  but  on  the  sabbath  it  shall  be  opened,  and  in  the  day 
of  the  new-moon  it  shall  be  opened. 

2.  And  the  prince  shall  enter  by  the  way  of  the  porch  of 
that  gate  without,  and  shall  stand  by  the  post  of  the  gate, 
and  the  priests  shall  prepare  his  burnt-offering  and  his 
peace-offerings,  and  he  shall  worship  at  the  threshold  of  the 


252  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XLVI. 

gate :  then  he  shall  go  forth ;  but  the  gate  shall  not  be  shut 
until  the  evening. 

3.  Likewise  the  people  of  the  land  shall  worship  at  the 
door  of  this  gate  before  the  Lord  in  the  sabbaths  and  in  the 
new-moons. 

Very  special  sacrcdness  attached  to  this  eastern  gate  since  through 
this  gate  the  visible  glory  of  the  Lord  entered  into  the  most  holy 
place.  See  chap.  44:  1-4.  Through  this  gate  the  prince  and  ho 
only  might  enter  (vs.  2,  12).  It  was  to  be  opened  only  on  the  Sab- 
bath ;  on  the  days  of  new  moon ;  and  when  the  prince  had  occasion 

to  present  a  voluntary  (not  specially  prescribed)  offering  (v.  12). 

The  significance  of  these  points  looks  toward  the  special  sacredness 
of  the  prince  as  one  near  to  God,  and  was  also  intended  to  impress 
the  people  with  the  great  central  truth  of  this  entire  vision,  viz., 
that  in  this  new,  holy  and  beautiful  state  of  the  church,  the  Lord 
God  would  dwell  among  his  people  with  preeminent  manifestations 
of  his  presence.     The  place  of  his  feet  would  be  sublimely  glorious. 

4.  And  the  burnt-offering  that  the  prince  shall  offer  unto 
the  Lord  in  the  sabbath  day  shall  be  six  lambs  without 
blemish,  and  a  ram  without  blemish. 

5.  And  the  meat-offering  shall  he  an  ephah  for  a  ram,  and 
the  meat-offering  for  the  lambs  as  he  shall  be  able  to  give, 
and  a  hin  of  oil  to  an  ephah. 

6.  And  in  the  day  of  the  new-moon  it  shall  be  a  young 
bullock  without  blemish,  and  six  lambs,  and  a  ram :  they 
shall  be  without  blemish. 

7.  And  he  shall  jDrepare  a  meat-offering,  an  ephah  for  a 
•bullock,  and  an  ephah  for  a  ram,  and  for  the  lambs  accord- 
ing as  his  hand  shall  attain  unto,  and  a  hin  of  oil  to  an 
ephah. 

These  special  directions  for  the  offerings  made  by  the  prince  do 
not  appear  in  the  old  Levitical  law,  and  hence  have  a  special  sig- 
nificance here  in  respect  to  the  sacredness  of  his  person  and  relations. 
As  already  suggested,  the  prince  is  a  new  character,  appearing  first 
in  this  special  economy. 

8.  And  wdicn  the  prince  shall  enter,  he  shall  go  in  by  the 
way  of  the  porch  of  that  gate,  and  he  shall  go  forth  by  the 
way  thereof. 

9.  But  when  the  people  of  the  land  shall  come  before  the 
Lord  in  the  solemn  feasts,  he  that  entereth  in  by  the  way 
of  the  north  gate  to  worship  shall  go  out  by  the  way  of  the 
south  gate;  and  he  that  entereth  by  the  way  of  the  south 
gate  shall  go  forth  by  the  way  of  the  north  gate:  he  shall 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XL VI.  253 

not  return  by  the  way  of  the  gate  whereby  he  came  in,  but 
shall  go  forth  over  against  it. 

10.  And  the  prince  in  the  midst  of  them,  when  they  go 
in,  shall  go  in;  and  when  they  go  forth,  shall  go  forth. 

The  prince  having  but  one  gate  for  himself  might  enter  by  it; 
then  turn  about  and  retire  through  the  same  eastern  gate.  But  the 
people  were  not  permitted  to  turn  about  to  go  out  by  the  same  gate 
through  which  they  entered.     If  they  came  in  by  the  north  gate, 

they  must  go  out  by  the  south  one,  and  vice  versa. The  reason 

of  this  rule  is  not  stated.  We  may  suppose  it  to  have  been  analo- 
gous to  the  law  of  movement  which  obtained  respecting  "the  living 
creature,"  as  given  chap.  1,  viz. :  that  turning  about  is  associated 
with   moral  obliquity — with  turning   away  from   God.      No  other 

reason  suggests  itself  to  my  mind. Remarkably  the  prince  was 

to  enter  the  temple  when  the  people  did,  and  withdraw  from  it  when 
they  did — an  ever  attending  presence  with  the  people,  reminding  us 
of  the  promise,  "  Lo,  I  am  with  you  always,  even  to  the  end  of  the 
world."  Since  in  certain  aspects  of  his  character  and  relations 
this  "prince"  was  a  foreshadowing  type  of  the  Messiah,  we  may 
accept  this  law  of  his  attendance  with  the  people  as  implying  that 
the/  should  approach  God's  holy  presence  only  with  and  in  and 
through  their  great  mediator,  Christ  Jesus. 

11.  And  in  the  feasts,  and  in  the  solemnities,  the  meat- 
offering shall  be  an  ephah  to  a  bullock,  and  an  ephah  to  a 
ram,  and  to  the  lambs  as  he  is  able  to  give,  and  a  bin  of 
oil  to  an  ephah. 

12.  Now,  when  the  prince  shall  prepare  a  voluntary  burnt- 
offering  or  peace-offerings  voluntarily  unto  the  Lord,  one  shall 
then  open  him  the  gate  that  looketh  toward  the  east,  and  he 
shall  prepare  his  burnt-offering  and  his  peace-offerings  as  he 
did  on  the  sabbath  day :  then  he  shall  go  forth ;  and  after 
his  going  forth  one  shall  shut  the  gate. 

This  remarkable  law  for  the  prince  when  he  made  a  free-will 
offering  and  passed  through  the  eastern  gate,  has  been  noticed 
already. 

13.  Thou  shalt  daily  prepare  a  burnt-offering  unto  the 
Lord  of  a  lamb  of  the  first  year  without  blemish :  thou  shalt 
prepare  it  every  morning. 

14.  And  thou  shall  prepare  a  meat-offering  for  it  every 
morning,  the  sixth  part  of  an  ephah,  and  the  third  part  of  a 
bin  of  oil,  to  temper  with  the  fine  flour ;  a  meat-offering  con- 
tinually by  a  perpetual  ordinance  unto  the  Lord. 

15.  Thus  shall  they  prepare  the  lamb,  and  the  meat- 
offering, and  the  oil,  every  morning,  for  a  continual  burnt- 
offerino;. 


254  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  LXVI. 

These  rules  for  the  daily  offerings  differ  slightly  from  those  given 
through  Moses  (Num.  28 :  3-8).  By  the  ancient  law  there  were 
two  lambs  offered  daily,  one  in  the  morning  and  the  other  in  the 
evening.  Here  is  but  one,  offered  each  morning.  May  it  l)e  sup- 
posed that  this  looks  especially  to  the  one  Lamb  that  was  slain  for 
us — the  "  one  offering  whereby  he  hath  perfected  forever  them  that 
are  sanctified"  (Heb.  10:  14)?  The  meat-offering  to  accompany  it 
was,  in  Moses,  the  tenth  part  of  an  ephah  of  flour  with  the  fourth 
part  of  a  hin  of  oil;  while  here  in  Ezekiel  the  quantities  are  the 
sixth  part  of  an  ephah  and  the  third  part  of  a  hin.  The  diversity 
shows  that  this  new  system  is  not  an  exact  copy  of  the  old;  while 
yet  in  its  general  features  it  is  quite  analogous. 

16.  Thus  saitli  the  Lord  God ;  If  the  i)rince  give  a  gift 
unto  any  of  his  sons,  the  inheritance  thereof  shall  be  his 
sons' ;  it  shall  be  their  possession  by  inheritance. 

17.  But  if  he  give  a  gift  of  his  inheritance  to  one  of  his 
servants,  then  it  shall  be  his  to  the  year  of  liberty ;  after,  it 
shall  return  to  the  prince:  but  his  inheritance  shall  be  his 
sons'  for  them. 

18.  Moreover,  the  prince  shall  not  take  of  the  people's 
inheritance  by  oppression,  to  thrust  them  out  of  their  posses- 
sion; but  he  shall  give  his  sons  inheritance  out  of  his  own 
possession :  that  my  people  be  not  scattered  every  man  from 
his  possession. 

For  the  thought  in  v.  18,  compare  chap.  45:  8,  9.  The  prince 
must  not  abuse  his  power  to  thrust  his  people  from  their  estates. 
Nor  might  he  alienate  his  lands  from  his  own  family.  His  sons 
may  inherit  it  permanently,  but  his  servants  only  till  the  next  Jubi- 
lee, here  called  "the  year  of  liberty,"  as  that  in  which  landed 
estates  reverted  back  to  their  lineal  owners.     See  Lev.  25:  10. 

19.  After,  he  brought  me  through  the  entry,  which  was 
at  the  side  of  the  gate,  into  the  holy  chambers  of  the  priests, 
which  looked  toward  the  north:  and  behold,  there  was  a 
place  on  the  two  sides  westward. 

20.  Then  said  he  unto  me.  This  is  the  place  where  the 
priests  shall- boil  the  trespass-offering  and  the  sin- offering, 
where  they  shall  bake  the  meat-offering;  that  they  bear  them 
not  out  into  the  outer  court,  to  sanctify  the  people. 

21.  Then  he  brought  me  forth  into  the  outer  court,  and 
caused  me  to  pass  by  the  four  corners  of  the  court;  and 
behold,  in  every  corner  of  the  court  there  ivas  a  court. 

22.  In  the  four  corners  of  the  court  theix  ivere  courts 
joined  of  forty  cubits  kmg  and  thirty  broad:  these  four  cor- 
ners were  of  one  measure. 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XLVIL  255 

23.  And  there  ivas  a  row  of  building  round  about  in  them, 
round  abo.it  them  four,  and  it  was  made  with  boiling  places 
under  the  rows  round  about. 

24.  Then  said  he  unto  me,  These  are  the  places  of  them 
that  boil,  where  the  ministers  of  the  house  shall  boil  the 
sacrifice  of  the  people. 

To  impress  more  deeply  the  idea  of  sanctity  In  this  temple,  and 
all  its  surroundings,  special  provision  is  made  for  the  culinary  ope- 
rations. The  cooking  is  all  to  be  done  in  special  apartments  pro- 
vided for  that  purpose. So  carefully  docs  the  Lord  guard  in  this 

new  representative  dispensation  against  whatever  might  lessen  the 
sacredness  of  divine  service  and  worship. 


CHAPTEE  XLYII. 


In  this  chapter  vs.  1-12  record  a  precious  vision  of  waters  com- 
ing forth  from  under  the  temple :  vs.  13-20  give  the  boundaries  of 
the  land;  and  vs.  21-23  provide  for  strangers  who  would  fain  affil- 
iate with  the  people  of  God. In  commenting  upon  the  first  por- 
tion, I  propose  first  to  explain  the  words  and  phrases  that  seem  to 
need  explanation,  and  then  speak  of  its  general  significance. 

1.  Afterward  he  brought  me  again  unto  the  door  of  the 
house ;  and  behold,  Avaters  issued  out  from  under  the  thresh- 
old of  the  house  eastward :  for  the  forefront  of  the  house 
stood  toward  the  east,  and  the  waters  came  down  from  under 
from  the  right  side  of  the  house,  at  the  south  side  of  the 
altar. 

"Brought  me  again,"  etc.,  i.  e.,  from  the  outer  court  where  we  left 
him  in  the  previous  chapter. "The  house"  is  of  course  the  tem- 
ple.  The  waters  issue  forth  from  under  the  temple  as  if  the  tem- 
ple itself  had  become  a  living  fountain. 

2.  Then  brought  he  me  out  of  the  w^ay  of  the  gate  north- 
ward, and  led  me  about  the  way  without  unto  the  outer  gate 
by  the  way  that  looketh  eastward ;  and  behold,  there  ran  out 
waters  on  the  right  side. 

His  angel-guide  now  leads  him  to  the  outer  gate — i.  <?.,  of  the  wall 
which  inclosed  the  court  of  the  temple.  Here  the  same  waters 
appear  issuing  forth  on  the  right  side  of  the  eastern  gate.  The  He- 
brew word  in  the  last  clause,  rendered  "ran  out,^'  means — they 
distilled^  came  in  drops,  oozed  forth.  The  amount  of  water  at  this 
point — the  distance  of  the  first  half-mile — seems  therefore  to  have 
appeared  small. 


256  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XLVII. 

3.  And  when  the  man  that  had  the  line  in  his  hand  went 
forth  eastward,  he  measured  a  thousand  cubits,  and  he 
brought  me  through  Ihe  waters ;  the  waters  ivere  to  the 
ankles. 

4.  Again'  he  measured  a  thousand,  and  brought  me 
through  the  w^aters;  and  the  waters  ivere  to  the  knees. 
Again  he  measured  a  thousand,  and  brought  me  through; 
the  waters  ivere  to  the  loins. 

5.  Afterward  he  measured  a  thousand ;  and  it  ivas  a  river 
that  I  could  not  pass  over :  for  the  waters  were  risen,  waters 
to  swim  in,  a  river  that  could  not  be  passed  over. 

The  remarkable  fact  shown  here  is  the  rapid  increase  in  the  vol- 
ume of  these  waters.  At  the  distance  of  one  thousand  cubits  by 
measure,  the  prophet  is  led  through  the  waters  and  finds  them  only 
to  the  soles  of  his  feet^  which  is  the  sense  of  the  word  rendered 
"ankles;"  at  the  distance  of  the  second  thousand  cubits,  they  have 
risen  to  his  knees ;  at  the  third  thousand,  to  his  loins ;  and  at  the 
fourth,  they  have  become  a  great  river — waters  to  swim  in — which 
he  can  not  ford. 

6.  And  he  said  unto  me.  Son  of  man,  hast  thou  seen  tliis  f 
Then  he  brought  me,  and  caused  me  to  return  to  the  brink 
of  the  river. 

7.  Now,  when  I  had  returned,  behold,  at  the  bank  of  the 
river  were  very  many  trees  on  the  one  side  and  on  the  other. 

The  angel-guide  says,  Hast  thou  carefully  noted  the  wonderful 
increase  oiE"  these  waters  ?  Do  not  lose  sight  of  this  fact  while  we 
pass  on  to  other  scenes.  Then  he  returns  to  observe  that  all  along 
the  bank  of  the  river  on  either  side  were  very  many  trees,  flourish- 
ing in  verdure  and  beauty,  being  fertilized  by  these  living  waters. 

The  llevelator  John  has  the  same  symbols  of  surpassing  beauty 

and  verdure  in  his  paradise  (Kev.  22:  1,  2). 

8.  Then  said  he  unto  me.  These  waters  issue  out  toward 
the  east  country,  and  go  down  into  the  desert,  and  go  into 
the  sea :  which  being  brought  forth  into  the  sea,  the  waters 
shall  be  healed. 

9.  And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  that  every  thing  that  liveth, 
which  moveth  whithersoever  the  rivers  shall  come,  shall  live: 
and  there  shall  be  a  very  groat  nudtitudc  of  fish,  because 
these  waters  shall  come  thither :  for  tliey  shall  be  healed ; 
and  every  thing  shall  live  whither  the  river  cometh. 

10.  And  it  shall  come  to  pass  that  the  fishers  shall  stand 
upon  it  from  En-gedi  even  unto  En-eglaim ;  they  shall  be  a 
place  to  spread  forth  nets:  tlieir  fish  shall  be  according  to 
their  kinds,  as  the  fish  of  the  great  sea,  exceeding  many. 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XLVII.  257 

The  next  special  feature  is  that  these  waters  flow  off  eastward 
"toward  the  east  country  and  go  down  into  the  desert" — ^more  prop- 
erly the  great  valley  of  the  Jordan  and  its  continuation  in  the  Dead 
Sea.  Falling  into  the  Dead  Sea,  where  ordinarily  no  fish  or  other 
animal  can  live,  those  waters  are  healed — made  salubrious  and 
healthful,  so  that  the  sea  becomes  full  of  fish,  even  like  the  Mediter- 
ranean, "the  great  sea"  of  v.  10.  The  passage  2  Kings  2:  20-22, 
uses  the  same  words  to  describe  the  change  whereby  water  from 

])eing  poisonous,  or  at  least,  insalubrious,  becomes  salubrious. 

Fishermen  line  the  whole  shore  from  En-gedi  to  En-eglaim — its 
northern  to  its  southern  extremity.  Every  thing  betokens  life,  pros- 
perity and  abundance.     The  Dead  Sea  is  full  of  animal  life. 

11.  But  the  miry  places  thereof  and  the  marshes  thereof 
shall  not  be  healed ;  they  shall  be  given  to  salt. 

But  there  are  still  marshy,  miry  places,  given  up  to  salt — doomed 
to  sterility. 

12.  And  by  the  river  upon  the  bank  thereof,  on  this  side 
and  on  that  side,  shall  grow  all  trees  for  meat,  whose  leaf 
shall  not  fade,  neither  shall  the  fruit  thereof  be  consumed : 
it  shall  bring  forth  new  fruit  according  to  his  months,  be- 
cause their  waters  they  issued  out  of  the  sanctuary:  and 
the  fruit  thereof  shall  be  for  meat,  and  the  leaf  thereof  for 
medicine. 

Returning  to  note  again  the  trees  on  either  bank,  he  sees  them 
in  great  variety — "all  trees  for  food" — L  e.,  fruit-trees  of  every 
sort;  their  leaves  never  fade,  but  are  sustained  in  perpetual  ver- 
dure; and  their  fruit  ne\cv  fails.  This  is  the  sense  of  the  word 
rendered  "consumed,"  which  does  not  mean  that  this  fruit  is  not 
used,  but  that  the  trees  never  fail  to  bear;  never  fail  to  yield  an 
abundant  supply.  In  fact  they  ripen  their  fruit  promptly  every 
month  because  the  waters  that  feed  their  fertility  issue  from  under 
the  sanctuary.  The  fruit  affords  not  only  delicious  food,  but  re- 
storing medicine.    What  symbols  are  these  of  ever-varied  and  untold 

blessings ! Now  as  to  the  general  significance  of  these  symbols 

as  seen  in  this  vision,  there  can  be  no  ground  for  reasonable  doubt. 
Water  is  the  well-established  symbol  for  the  cleansing,  life-renew- 
ing work  of  the  Spirit  of  God  on  human  hearts.  Even  David  has 
it;  "Wash  me,  and  I  shall  be  whiter  than  snow;  renew  a  right 
spirit  within  me;  take  not  thy  Holy  Spirit  from  me"  (Ps.  51  :  7, 
11).  Isaiah  also;  "Fear  not,  O  Jacob  my  servant,  for  1  will  pour 
water  on  him  that  is  thirsty  and  floods  upon  the  dry  ground :  I  will 
pour  my  Spirit  upon  thy  seed  and  my  blessing  upon  thine  ofl>;pring" 
(chap.  44:  2,  3).  Joel  also;  "I  will  jyoiir  out  my  Spirit  (as  if  it  were 
water)  upon  all  flesh,"  and  "all  the  rivers  of  Judah  shall  flow  with 
water  and  a  fountain  shall  come  forth  from  the  house  of  the  Lord, 
and  shall  water  the  valley  of  Shittim,"  or  of  the  acacias  (a  plant 
at  home  in  the  sterile  desert),"  for  I  will  cleanse  their  blood  that  I 


258  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XLVII. 

have  not  cleansed ;  for  the  Lord  dwellcth  in  Zion." The  reader 

will  notice  the  striking  analogy  between  this  passage  of  Joel  and 
Ezokiel  as  in  our  text.  In  both,  waters  are  the  symbol  of  God's 
gift  of  his  Spirit;  in  both,  the  fountain  is  in  the  temple  where  God 
of  old  dwelt  among  his  people ;  in  both,  these  waters  are  freighted 
with  ])lessings  wherever  they  go.  As  we  have  already  seen,  Eze- 
kiel  himself  has  the  same  figure  in  chap.  36 :  25-27,  a  case  the 
more  in  point  because  in  the  same  writer.  And  finally,  Zecha- 
riah  (14:  8)  has  a  passage  closely  analagous;  "And  it  shall  be  in 
that  day  that  living  waters  shall  go  out  from  Jerusalem,  half  of 
them  toward  the  former"  (front)  "sea,  and  half  of  them  toward 
the  hinder  sea"  (the  Mediterranean);  "in  summer  and  in  winter 

shall  it  be." The  peculiar  feature  here  of  a  division  in  these 

waters,  making  two  rivers ;  one  running  eastward  to  the  Dead  Sea ; 
the  other  westward  to  the  Mediterranean;  serves  to  show  that  these 
rivers  are  only  symbols,  and  were  never  thought  of  as  actual  rivers 
in  real  life.  As  symbols,  it  matters  not  whether  they  run  in  both 
directions  or  only  in  one. Some  of  the  ancient  Jewish  interpret- 
ers {e.  g.,  the  Chaldoe  paraphrast)  supposed  that  Ezekiel's  language 
implies  two  rivers ;  but  obviously  it  does  not.    The  whole  description 

shows  that  his  river  falls  into  the  Dead  Sea  only. It  scarcely 

needs  to  be  said  that  this  symbol  of  water  to  represent  the  agencies 
of  the  Spirit  appears  throughout  the  New  Testament,  especially  in 
such  passages  as  Jn.  3:  5,  "Born  of  water  and  of  the  Spirit;"  and 
Jn.  7:  37-39,  and  Ac.  2:  17,  33;  also  in  the  Christian  rite -of 
baptism.  \^"I  hold  therefore  most  fully  that  this  vision  looks  to 
the  glorious  effusions  of  the  Spirit  in  the  latter  days.  That  these 
waters  proceed  from  under  the  temple  develops  a  great  central 
truth  in  the  Christian  economy,  viz.,  that  the  divine  Spirit  attends 
and  blesses  human  agencies  when  these  agencies  work  in  the  line 
of  his  appointed  gospel  institutions  and  instrumentalities.  Human 
hands  build  God's  temples;  God  himself  fills  them  with  his  pres- 
ence and  makes  them  living  fountains  of  water  to  fertilize  the  great 
deserts  long  wasted  by  sin;  to  restore  life  and  life-giving  qualities 
to  the  dead  seas  of  human  depravity,  and  so  to  cleanse  and  clothe 

with  beauty  the  moral  face  of  all  the  earth. The  figures  here 

are  exceedingly  beautiful  and  expressive.  There,  almost  within 
sight  of  Jerusalem,  lay  the  dark,  black,  lurid  Sea  of  Death.  There 
it  had  lain  for  ages,  covering  the  smoking,  seething  ruins  of  the 
doomed  cities  of  the  plain — a  sad  and  solemn  memorial  of  God's 
wrath  against  sin  and  of  the  remediless  doom  of  fatally  hardened 
sinners — "set  forth  as  an  example,  suffering  the  vengeance  of  eter- 
nal fire"  (.hide  7). Will  the  gospel  ever  avail  to  regenerate  this 

sin-cursed  earth?  If  so,  no  symbol  of  tliis  fact  could  be  more  in 
point  than  this — waters  froni  under  tho  temple  where  God  dwells 
present  among  his  poopl(%  flowing  forth,  a  growing,  mighty  river, 
and  reehiiming  to  life  that  Sea  of  Deatli — clothing  with   beauty, 

health  and  glory  that  long  desolate  and  dismal  vale. Here  let 

us  note  more  particularly  the  significance  of  the  rapid  increase  of 
these  waters.     The   manner  of  the   statement  does   not  properly 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XLVII.  259 

indicate  that  the  stream  as  it  came  from  the  temple  enlarged  in 
volume  with  the  lapse  of  time — the  temple  itself  sonding^  forth  a 
rapidly  increasing  supply.  It  is  rather  that  the  river  grew  as  it 
ran — became  broader  and  deeper  as  it  progressed  outward  from 
the  fountain.  This  is  certainly  a  very  remarkable  feature,  and  (it 
would  seem)  should  have  some  special  and  noteworthy  significance. 
For,  rivers  in  Palestine  are  wont  often  to  lessen  as  they  run^  rather 
than  increase  in  volume,  being  made  up  mainly  or  wholly  from  one 
fountain  in  the  dry  season,  and  then  losing  their  waters  in  the 
sands,  or  the  fissures  of  the  rocks.  Hence  this  feature  is  the  more 
striking. Furthermore,  under  the  ancient  Jewish  regime,  re- 
ligious influences,  emanating  from  a  common  center  at  the  temple, 
naturally  lessened  as  the  distance  from  that  center  increased.  Their 
normal  law  would  be ;  strongest  at  the  center,  and  strength  elsewhere 
inversely  as  the  distance  from  that  center.  In  remote  lands  their 
power  would  become  inappreciable.  The  stream  from  the  temple 
would  be  absorbed  in  the  desert  sands  and  be  lost.  Now  bearing 
in  mind  this  law  of  the  old  economy,  what  could  the  Lord  mean 
here  less  or  other  than  that  this  new  economy  should  precisely  re- 
verse the  law  of  the  old  ?  Under  the  gospel  system  the  moral  power 
of  the  cross  would  grow  as  it  traveled  outward;  difi"usion  and  ex- 
pansion, involving  an  intensified  activity,  become  the  law  of  its 
growth;  that  the  divine  purpose  is  to  develop  in  the  Christian  sys- 
tem a  moral  power  that  will  really  pervade  the  wide  earth,  not  only 
with  no  waste  as  it  diffuses  itself  abroad,  but  actually  with  ever- 
increasing  force — in  this  respect  precisely  reversing  the  law  of  the 
ancient  Jewish  economy!  Has  not  our  Lord  a  kindred  truth  in 
his  eye  in  his  parable  of  the  mustard-seed  ?  This  is  indeed  "  the 
least  of  all  seeds,  yet  it  becomes  a  great  tree,  so  that  the  fowls  of 
the  air  lodge  in  the  branches  thereof"  So  is  to  be  the  gospel  king- 
dom in  its  law  of  unparalleled  growth  and  glorious  expansion !    See 

Matt.  13:  31,  32. A  blessed  truth  is  this;  and  yet  no  truth  could 

well  be  put  in  clearer  symbol  or  in  stronger  form.  Let  our  hearts 
hail  it  with  befitting  joy  and  gratitude !  Blessed  be  the  God  of  all 
grace  and  love  for  such  great  thoughts  of  mercy  for  our  lost  world ! 

One  other  feature  remains  to  be  noticed.      There  were  some 

marshy,  miry  districts  that  no  waters  could  restore.  They  are 
doomed  to  miasms,  sterility,  and  death.  So  there  wiU  be  some 
human  souls,  possibly  some  localities,  never  blessed  by  the  gospel. 
Having  ears  to  hear,  they  hear  not;  having  the  gospel  brought  to 
their  door  and  pressed  on  their  heart,  they  repel  it  and  doom  them- 
selves to  eternal  reprobation ! A  few  isolated  spots  of  this  sort 

enforce  the  moral  lessons  of  human  responsibility,  and  serve  to 
reaffirm  the  freedom  of  man  in  all  his  voluntary  activities,  even 

under  the  most  powerful  agencies  of  God's  Spirit. Let  sinners 

beware  how  they  trifle  with  the  offered  grace  of  the  gospel.  Let 
them  see  to  it  that  in  whatever  day  the  Lord  comes  near  to  bless 
them,  they  spurn  not  his  call  to  life  lest  he  turn  himself  away  and 
leave  them  to  their  own  infatuation! 


260  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XLVII. 

13.  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God;  Tliis  shall  he  the  border, 
whereby  ye  shall  inherit  the  land  according  to  the  twelve 
tribes  of  Israel :  Joseph  shall  have  two  portions. 

14.  And  ye  shall  inherit  it  one  as  well  as  another:  con- 
cerning the  Avhich  I  lifted  up  my  hand  to  give  it  unto 
your  fathers:  and  this  land  shall  fall  unto  you  for  in- 
heritance. 

Before  proceeding  to  define  the  boundaries  of  the  land  geograph- 
ically, the  revealing  angel  premises  these  points;  viz.,  that  they 
were  to  inherit  as  the  original  twelve  tribes;  that  since  Levi  had 
his  portion  in  the  sacred  reserve,  adjacent  to  the  great  section 
which  inclosed  the  temple,  Joseph  should  count  two  (Ephraim  and 
^Manasseh)  to  fill  out  the  twelve ;  that  the  portions  for  each  several 
tribe  should  be  equal,  this  being  the  precise  sense  of  the  first  clause 
in  V.  14;  "Ye  shall  inherit  it"  (the  land)  "  each  one  as  his  brother  T 
and  finally  that  this  is  the  land  which  the  Lord  bound  himself  by 
oath  to  the  tribes  to  give  them  for  their  inheritance. Remark- 
ably the  uniform  law  of  Messianic  prophecy  is  to  promise  the  future 
Canaan  not  to  Judah  alone,  but  to  the  twelve  tribes — to  Ephraim 
and  the  lost  ten  tribes  as  truly  as  to  Judah  and  Benjamin,  the  two 
tri])es  which  so  long  constituted  the  southern  kingdom.  It  would 
seem  that  the  Spirit  of  inspiration  overlooked  the  foct  of  the  revolt 
under  Jeroboam;  started  at  a  point  much  farther  back,  even  with 
the  promise  made  to  the  patriarchs  and  specially  renewed  to  David, 
and  built  upon  that  basis  the  whole  structure  of  their  glorious  fu- 
ture. We  may  notice  this  remarkable  feature  of  Messianic  proph- 
ecy in  both  Jeremiah  (chap.  3:  12,  18,  and  23:  2,  6-8,  and  31:  I, 
9,  23,  33)  and   in  Ezekiel  (chap  36:  1,  8,  12,  32,  37,  and  37:  11, 

12,  28,  and  39:  25). The  question  whether  the  ten  tribes  did  in 

fact  return  in  any  considerable  numbers  under  Zerubbabel  has 
been  much  mooted,  and  with  various  conclusions.  I  have  had  oc- 
casion heretofore  to  say  that  the  evidence  for  the  affirmative  from 
the  records  in  Ezra  and  Nehemiah  is  exceedingly  weak.  Indeed 
the  inquirer  who  has  no  foregone  conclusion  to  sustain  would  not 
suspect  that  those  records  refer  to  the  ten  tribes  at  all.  The  histo- 
rian who  notes  the  captivity  of  the  two  and  a  half  tribes  on  the 
east  of  Jordan  (1  Chron.  5:  26)  explicitly  denies  their  restoration 
at  any  period  prior  to  his  own  times. — —The  question  whether  the 
ten  tribes  (Ephraim)  or  the  two  tribes  (Judah  and  Benjamin)  will 
in  any  future  day  return  to  Palestine  to  rebuild  their  old  nation- 
ality, Avill  be  in  place  for  consideration  soon,  i.  <\,  at  the  close  of 
my  special  explanation  of  the  words  and  phrases  throughout  chap- 
ters 40-48. 

15.  And  this  shall  be  the  border  of  the  land  toward  the 
north  side,  from  the  great  sea,-  the  way  of  Hethlou,  as  men 
go  to  Zcdad : 

16.  Hamath,   Berothah,  Sibraim,  which  is  between  the 


I 


'  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XLVII.  261 

border  of  Damascus  and  the  border  of  Hamatli ;  Hazar-hat- 
ticon,.  which  is  by  the  coast  of  Hauran. 

17.  And  the  border  from  the  sea  shall  be  Hazar-enan, 
the  border  of  Damascus,  and  the  north  northward,  and  the 
border  of  Hamath.     And  this  is  the  north  side. 

18.  And  the  east  side  ye  shall  measure  from  Hauran, 
and  from  Damascus,  and  from  Gilead,  and  from  the  land 
of  Israel  bif  Jordan,  from  the  border  unto  the  east  sea. 
And  this  is  the  east  side. 

19.  And  the  south  side  southward,  from  Tamar  even  to 
the  waters  of  strife  in  Kadesh,  the  river  to  the  great  sea. 
And  this  is  the  south  side  southward. 

20.  The  west  side  also  shall  be  the  great  sea  from  the 
border,  till  a  man  come  over  against  Hamath.  This  is  the 
west  side. 

21.  So  shall  ye  divide  this  land  unto  you  according  to  the 
tribes  of  Israel. 

These  boundaries  differ  in  no  important  respect  from  the  ancient 
boundaries  of  the  land  as  given  by  the  Lord  through  Moses,  Num. 
34:  1-12.  This  passage  is  not  a  copy  of  that.  The  description 
commences  in  each  at  different  points;  that  in  Numbers  with  the 
southern  border,  and  this  in  Ezekiel  with  the  northern.  As  we 
shall  see  in  the  next  chapter,  the  location  of  the  several  tribes 
differs  widely  from  that  made  by  Joshua,  and  assumes  a  very  dif- 
ferently shaped  territory  to  be  divided. 

22.  And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  that  ye  shall  divide  it  by 
lot  for  an  inheritance  unto  you,  and  to  the  strangers  that 
sojourn  among  you,  which  shall  beget  children  among  you: 
and  they  shall  be  unto  you  as  born  in  the  country  among 
the  children  of  Israel :  they  shall  have  inheritance  with  you 
among  the  tribes  of  Israel. 

23.  And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  that  in  what  tribe  the 
stranger  sojourneth,  there  shall  ye  give  him  his  inheritance, 
saith  the  Lord  God. 

Inasmuch  as  enlargement  by  the  accession  of  Gentiles  proselyted 
to  the  Jewish  faith  was  a  cherished  feature  of  the  ancient  economy 
and  afforded  a  choice  symbol  of  the  great  and  glorious  ingathering 
of  the  Gentiles  in  the  Christian  age,  it  was  every  way  fitting  that 
sp3cial  provision  should  be  made  here  for  the  location  and  natural- 
ization of  strangers  who  might  choose  to  cast  in  their  lot  with 
Israel.     Here  it  stands. 


262  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XLVIII. 


CHAPTER  XLVm. 


This  vision  closes  legitimately  with  a  definite  geographical  loca- 
tion of  the  several  tribes  (vs.  i-7,  23-28);  a  more  expanded  de- 
scription of  the  sacred  reserve  (vs.  8-22)  resumed  from  chap.  45 : 
1-7;  and  a  description  of  the  gates  of  the  great  city  (vs.  29-35). 

1.  Now  these  are  the  names  of  the  tribes.  From  the 
north  end  to  the  coast  of  the  way  of  Hethlon,  as  one  goeth 
to  Hamath,  Hazar-enan,  the  border  of  Damascus  northward, 
to  the  coast  of  Hamath ;  for  these  are  his  sides  east  and 
west ;  a  portion  for  Dan. 

2.  And  by  the  border  of  Dan,  from  the  east  side  unto  the 
•west  side,  a  portion  for  Asher. 

3.  And  by  the  border  of  Asher,  from  the  east  side  even 
•unto  the  west  side,  a  portion  for  Naphtali. 

4.  And  by  the  border  of  Naphtali,  from  the  east  side  unto 
the  west  side,  a  p)ortionfor  Manasseh. 

5.  And  by  the  border  of  Manasseh,  from  the  east  side 
unto  the  west  side,  a  portion  for  Ephraim. 

6.  And  by  the  border  of  Ephraim,  from  the  east  side  even 
unto  the  west  side,  a  p)ortion  for  Keuben. 

7.  And  by  the  border  of  Keuben,  from  the  east  side  unto 
the  west  side,  a  portion  for  Judah. 

The  best  view  of  this  assignment  of  the  tribes  will  be  obtained 
from  the  diagram,  page  248,  It  will  be  seen  there  at  a  glance 
that  the  territory  of  each  tribe  extended  entirely  across  the  country 
from  west  to  east,  and  of  equal  width.  The  actual  sinuosities  and 
irregularities  of  the  western  bojder  and  of  the  eastern  also,  are 
overlooked,  as  well  as  the  narrowing  of  the  real  Palestine  from  its 
greatest  width  at  its  southern  extremity  to  its  least  at  the  northern. 
The  location  of  the  tribes  differs  in  other  respects  widely  from  that 
made  by  Joshua.  The  latter  was  every  way  irregular ;  the  former 
is  a  model  of  perfect  mathematical  regularity.  Doubtless  the  con- 
sideration of  order  ruled  in  this  arrangement  Every  thing  about 
it  indicates  that  it  was  and  is  only  ideal — a  thing  of  vision  only, 
and  never  to  be  a  thing  of  fact;  shaped  for  its  suggestive  and  sym- 
l)olic  bearings  rather  than  with  any  reference  to  the  territory  to  bo 
divided  or  the  adaptation  of  its  parts  to  the  several  tribes. 

8.  And  by  the  border  of  Judah,  from  the  east  side  unto 
the  west  side,  shall  be  the  oflering  which  ye  shall  offer  of 
five  and  twenty  thousand  rccd^i  in  breadth,  and  in  length  as 
one  of  the  other  parts,  from  the  cast  side  unto  the  west  side : 
and  the  sanctuary  shall  be  in  the  midst  of  it. 

9.  The  oblation  that  ye  shall  offer  unto  the  Lord  shall  be 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XLVIII.  263 

of  five  and  twenty  thousand  in  length,  and  of  ten  thousand 
in  breadth. 

10.  And  for  them,  even  for  the  priests,-  shall  be  this  holy- 
oblation;  toward  the  north  five  and  twenty  thousand  in 
length,  and  toward  the  west  ten  thousand  in  breadth,  and 
toward  the  east  ten  thousand  in  breadth,  aijd  toward  the 
south  five  and  twenty  thousand  in  length:  and  the  sanctu- 
ary of  the  Lord  shall  be  in  the  midst  thereof. 

11.  It  shall  be  for  the  priests  that  are  sanctified  of  the 
sons  of  Zadok;  w^hich  have  kept  my  charge,  which  went  not 
astray  Avhen  the  children  of  Israel  went  astray,  as  the  Levites 
went  astray. 

12.  And  this  oblation  of  the  land  that  is  offered  shall  be 
unto  them  a  thing  most  holy  by  the  border  of  the  Levites. 

13.  And  over  against  the  l3order  of  the  priests  the  Levites 
shall  have  five  and  twenty  thousand  in  length,  and  ten  thou- 
sand in  breadth:  all  the  length  shall  be  five  and  twenty 
thousand,  and  the  breadth  ten  thousand. 

14.  And  they  shall  not  sell  of  it,  neither  exchange,  nor 
alienate  the  first  fruits  of  the  land:  for  it  is  holy  unto  the 
Lord. 

15.  And  the  five  thousand,  that  are  left  in  'the  breadth 
over  against  the  five  and  twenty  thousand,  shall  be  a  pro- 
fane p/ace  for  the  city,  for  dwelling,  and  for  suburbs,  and 
the  city  shall  be  in  the  midst  thereof. 

16.  And  these  shall  be  the  measures  thereof;  the  north 
side  four  thousand  and  five  hundred,  and  the  south  side 
four  thousand  and  five  hundred,  and  on  the  east  side  four 
thousand  and  five  hundred,  and  the  west  side  four  thousand 
and  five  hundred. 

17.  And  the  suburbs  of  the  city  shall  be  toward  the  north 
two  hundred  and  fifty,  and  toward  the  south  two  hundred 
and  fifty,  and  toward  the  east  two  hundred  and  fifty,  and 
toward  the  west  two  hundred  and  fifty. 

18.  And  the  residue  in  length  over  against  the  oblation 
of  the  holy  portion  shall  be  ten  thousand  eastward,  and  ten 
thousand  westward ;  and  it  shall  be  over  against  the  oblation 
of  the  holy  x>ortion;  and  the  increase  thereof  shall  be  for 
food  unto  them  that  serve  the  city. 

19.  And  they  that  serve  the  city  shall  serve  it  out  of  all 
the  tribes  of  Israel. 

20.  All  the  oblation  shall  be  five  and  twenty  thousand  by 
five  and  twenty  thousand:  ye  shall  ofier  the  holy  oblation 
four-square,  with  the  possession  of  the  city. 


264  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XLVIII. 

21.  And  the  residue  shall  he  for  the  prince,  on  the  one 
side  and  on  the  other  of  the  holy  oblation,  and  of  the  pos- 
session of  the  city,  over  against  the  five  and  t^yenty  thousand 
of  the  oblation  toward  the  east  border,  and  westward  over 
against  the  five  and  twenty  thousand  toward  the  west  border, 
over  against  the  portions  for  the  prince:  and  it  shall  be  the 
holy  oblation;  and  the  sanctuary  of  the  house  shall  he  in 
the  midst  thereof. 

22.  Moreover,  from  the  possession  of  the  Levites,  and  from 
the  possession  of  the  city,  heing  in  the  midst  of  that  which 
is  the  prince's,  between  the  border  of  Judah  and  the  border 
of  Benjamin,  shall  be  for  the  prince. 

This  is  the  sacred  reserve,  "the  holy  oblation,"  first  brought  to 
view  chap.  45 :  1-7 ;  but  here  taken  up  again,  repeated,  and  some- 
what expanded.  The  diagram  (p.  248)  will  give  the  best  view 
of  these  apportionments.  As  said  in  the  notes  on  chap.  45 :  1-7, 
the  purpose  of  this  reserve  is  obviously  to  carry  out  the  great 
idea  of  the  ancient  economy  in  its  extreme  form — seclusion  of  the 
holy  from  the  profane  and  earthly — the  broadest  possible  distinction 
between  things  sacred  and  things  common  every-where  kept  up  in 
order  to  cultivate  a  critical  habit  of  moral  discrimination  between 
holiness  and  sin,  and  to  impress  a  sense  of  the  obligation  of  moral 
purity.  This  moral  discipline  is  above  all  price  in  value.  But  we 
should  quite  mistake  the  genius  of  the  gospel  dispensation  if  we 
were  to  assume  that  God  proposes  to  develop  its  future  and  higher 
stages  by  returning  to  the  modes  and  forms  of  Judaism.  Xo ;  his 
thought  is  rather  to  carry  the  culture  obtained  by  the  aid  of  that 
ancient  regime,  out  into  the  world-wide  fields  of  human  society,  and 
train  men  to  "live  holily,  justly,  and  unblamably  m  this  present 
world i'^  not  to  shut  themselves  out  of  it  for  the  sake  of  the  holiness 

of  the  cloister. ^We  may  fitly  notice  that  the  Lord  makes  ample 

provision  for  the  support  of  his  Levito  servants  as  well  as  for  the 
priests  and  for  those  who  serve  in  the  city,  taken  from  all  the  tribes 
of  Israel.  The  ministers  who  labor  and  serve  under  this  new  regime 
are  thoughtfully  provided  for  as  if  specially  worthy  of  their  hire. 
The  implication  is  that  only  loith  such  provision  can  they  be  expected 
to  hold  on,  true  to  their  work,  kept  above  the  torturing  power  of 
poverty  to  seduce  them  from  their  sacred  functions. 

23.  As  for  the  rest  of  the  tribes,  from  the  east  side  unto 
the  west  side,  Benjamin  shall  have  a  portion. 

24.  And  by  the  border  of  Benjamin,  from  the  east  side 
unto  the  west  side,  Simeon  shall  have  a  portion. 

25.  And  by  the  border  of  Simeon,  from  the  east  ^ide  unto 
the  west  side,  Issachar  a  j^ortlon. 

26.  And  by  the  border  of  Issachar,  from  the  cast  side 
unto  the  west  side,  Zebulun  a  ptortlon. 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XLVIII.  265 

27.  And  by  the  border  of  Zebulun,  from  the  east  side 
unto  the  west  side,  Gad  a  portion. 

28.  And  by  the  border  of  Gad,  at  the  south  side  south- 
ward, the  border  shall  be  even  from  Tamar  unto  the  waters 
of  strife  in  Kadesh,  and  to  the  river  toward  the  great  sea. 

29.  This  is  the  land  which  ye  shall  divide  by  lot  unto  the 
tribes  of  Israel  for  inheritance,  and  these  are  their  portions, 
saith  the  Lord  God. 

30.  And  these  are  the  goings  out  of  the  city  on  the  north 
side,  four  thousand  and  five  hundred  measures. 

31.  And  the  gates  of  the  city  shall  he  after  the  names  of 
the  tribes  of  Israel:  three  gates  northward;  one  gate  of 
Reuben,  one  gate  of  Judah,  one  gate  of  Levi. 

32.  And  at  the  east  side  four  thousand  and  five  hundred : 
and  three  gates;  and  one  gate  of  Joseph,  one  gate  of  Ben- 
jamin, oue  gate  of  Dan. 

33.  And  at  the  south  side  four  thousand  and  five  hundred 
measures :  and  three  gates ;  one  gate  of  Simeon,  one  gate  of 
Issachar,  one  gate  of  Zebulun. 

34.  At  the  west  side  four  thousand  and  five  hundred,  \dtli 
their  three  gates;  one  gate  of  Gad,  one  gate  of  Asher,  one 
gate  of  Naphtali. 

35.  It  was  round  about  eighteen  thousand  measures:  and 
the  name  of  the  city  from  that  day  shall  he,  The  Lord  is 
there. 

This  great  city,  a  model  of  method  and  order — each  tribe  repre- 
sented in  its  twelve  gates — is  imitated  by  the  Revelator  John  in 
his  city  of  the  New  Jerusalem  (Rev.  21:  10-21).  John  however 
was  farther  advanced  in  the  light  of  the  new  dispensation,  for  in 
his  city  is  "no  temple,"  while  here  the  temple  is  the  central  fact. 
But  the  glory  of  the  whole  scene  is  brought  out  here  in  the  signifi- 
cant name- of  the  city  which  was  to  stand  from  that  day  onward; 
"Jehovah  ShammahJ"  The  Lord  is  there  I !  It  is  the  place  of  Je- 
hovah's dwelling  in  the  midst  of  his  people.  Every  thing  is  shaped 
according  to  Mosaic  ideas,  for  the  perpetual  dwelling  of  Jehovah 
among  his  people.  The  entire  arrangements,  including  the  sacred 
reserve,  its  special  localities  for  the  Levites,  for  the  priests,  for  the 
more  menial  servants  of  the  sanctuary;  for  the  prince  also  and  for 
all  the  ti-ibes :  all,  every  several  thing,  provides  for  the  great  central 
fact,  and  adjusts  itself  around  that  living  truth — Jehovah  dwelling 
forever,  and  forever  manifesting  himself  among  his  chosen ;  he  their 
God,  and  they,  his  people.  Prophetically,  it'^looks  down  into  the 
Christian  age  to  its  great  central  truth — the  Lord  by  his  divine 
Spirit  making  his  abode  through  all  ages  in  the  hearts  of  his  chil- 
dren. "  Lo,  I  am  with  you  always,  even  to  the  end  of  the  world." 
"I  will  send  you  the  Comforter;"  he  will  guide  you  into  all  truth;" 
.  12 


266  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XLVIII. 

"he  shall  glorify  mc;  for  he  shall  take  of  mine  and  shall  show  it 
unto  you." 

It  now  remains  to  present  with  somewhat  more  ^method  and 
fullness  than  heretofore  my  reasons  for  the  general  system  of  inter- 
pretation which  1  have  applied  to  these  closing  chapters  of  Ezckiel 

(40-48). Let  it  then  be  premised  that  they  refer  mainly  and 

properly  to  the  Messianic  times — to  the  Christian  age  of  the  world. 
It  might  be  claimed  with  reason  that  these  chapters  would  natur- 
ally inspire  in  the  hearts  of  the  pious  Jews  then  around  the  prophet, 
the  hope  of  returning  to  their  own  land  and  of  rebuilding  their 
city  and  temple.  Granted,  This  may  have  been  an  incidental 
and  minor  purpose  of  these  visions.  But  they  assume  rather  than 
assert  this.  Or  perhaps  there  would  be  no  objection  to  saying  that 
this  nearer  restoration  under  Zerubbabel  was  a  first  installment — a 
sort  of  earnest  and  pledge  of  the  far  greater  blessings  yet  in  the 
remote  future.  But  no  sound  interpreter  would  venture  to  say  that 
the  significance  of  these  chapters  is  exhausted  in  the  events  of  that 
first  restoration,  or  at  any  time  before  Christ.  Let  this  be  consid- 
ered as  settled.  They  look  onward  into  the  gospel  age  for  their 
main  fulfillment.     This  point  is  so  clear  as  to  call  for  no  argument. 

Hence  the  question  now  at  issue  becomes  simple  and  definite. 

The  choice  lies  between  two  systems  of  interpretation;  the  literal, 
and  the  figurative — otherwise  called  the  symbolic.  The  literal  in- 
terpretation would  teach  that  the  Jews  at  some  time  yet  future  are  to 
be  restored  to  their  own  native  land ;  that  this  land  is  to  be  divided 
among  them  as  here  directed;  the  "holy  oblation"  or  sacred  re- 
serve, set  off  as  here  described;  the  temple  and  city  rebuilt;  the 
Mosaic  ritual  with  feasts,  bloody  sacrifices  and  attendant  meat- 
offerings, all  restored  in  manner  and  form  as  here  detailed.  The 
holy  waters  from  under  the  sanctuary  are  real  waters,  and  flowing 
into  the  actual  Dead  Sea,  will  purify  it  and  thus  supply  fish  in 
abundance  for  the   restored  people; — while   along  its  banks  will 

cluster  beautiful  trees  for  shade  and  fruit  and  for  medicine. 

The  literal  interpretation  is  exceedingly  easy  because  the  state- 
ments are  entirely  plain  and  definite,  so  that  if  this  system  is  the 
right  one,  the  significance  of  the  entire  vision  is  as  pjain  as  the 
English  alphabet. Let  it  be  said  also  that  on  every  just  prin- 
ciple of  construction,  if  the  literal  system  is  adopted,  it  should  be 
carried  honestly  through.  There  is  as  much  reason  for  making 
every  part  of  this  vision  literal  as  for  making  any  part  of  it  so. 
There  can  be  no  valid  reason  for  mixing  up  the  literal  and  the 
figurative  methods,  making  one  line  or  verse  in  the  same  passage 
literal  and  the  next  figurative.  Such  changes  can  be  nothing  else 
than  purely  capricious.  They  can  never  bo  justified  on  any  sound 
law  of  interpretation.  If  the  return  of  the  Jews  to  Talostine  to 
restore  their  nationality  there  be  literal,  then  the  ritual  worship 
described  here  is  literal  also;  for  it  is  part  of  the  same  vision — 
part  of  the  same  state  of  things,  and  should  therefore  be  inter- 
preted by  the  same  laws  of  language. 


EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XLVIII.  267 

I  plead  for  the  figurative  interpretation  and  against  the  literal, 
and  draw  my  arguments, 

1.  From  ike  Neio  Testament; 

2.  From  the  Old,  and  especially  from  these  prophecies  themselves 
in  their  relation  to  the  writer  and  his  first  readers. 

3.  From  the  nature  of  the  case — especially  as  creating  an  in- 
tensely strong  probability  against  the  literal  and  in  favor  of  the 
figurative  interpretation. 

1.  The  literal  system  of  interpretation  must  be  rejected  because 
it  is  absolutely  precluded  and  forbidden  by  the  New  Testament. 
The  entire  spirit  and  genius  of  the  gospel  dispensation  as  unfolded  by 
Christ  and  his  inspired  apostles  is  utterly,  squarely,  fatally  against 
it.  For,  the  literal  system  must  hold  that  according  to  this  vision, 
Judaism  will  yet  be  fully  restored — restored  with  more  than  all 
its  ancient  surroundings,  and  in  more  than  its  ancient  fullness. 
l>ut  according  to  the  New  Testament,  Judaism  is  dead.  It  had 
done  its  great  work  when  Jesus  died  as  the  Lamb  of  God  and 
thenceforth  it  ceased  to  exist  under  divine  authority.  In  the  age 
of  the  epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  it  had  already  "decayed,  waxed  old, 
and  was  ready  to  vanish  away."  Paul  declared  repeatedly  and  in 
many  various  forms  that  Christ  had  "broken  down  the  middle 
wall  of  partition  between  Jews  and  Gentiles "  by  setting  aside 
whatever  was  peculiar  to  the  Jew;  that  he  "had  abolished  in  his 
flesh  the  enmity,  even  the  law  of  commandments  contained  in 
ordinances,"  etc.  (Eph.  2:  14,  15) ;  that  he  had  "blotted  out  the 
handwriting  of  ordinances  that  was  against  us"  (Gentiles),  "which 
was  contrary  to  us,  and  took  it  out  of  the  way,  nailing  it  to  his 
cross"  (Col  2:  14),  This  was  the  end  of  the  Mosaic  system.  And 
yet  more  if  possible  to  this  point,  the  burden  of  Paul's  epistle  to 
the  Galatians  is,  that  relapsing  from  Christianity  to  Judaism  is 
not  only  a  folly  (chap.  3:  1,  3)  "but  a  sin,  and  essentially  an  apos- 
tasy from  Christ.  He  declares,  "  There  is  neither  Jew  nor  Greek" 
(Judaism  being  defunct),  "for  ye  are  all  one  in  Christ  Jesus." 
"  But  now,  after  that  ye  have  known  God,  how  turn  ye  again  to 
the  weak  and  beggarly  elements,  whereunto  ye  desire  again  to  be 
in  bondage?"  "Ye  observe  [Jewish]  da3^s  and  months  and  times 
and  years.  I  am  afraid  of  you  lest  I  have  bestowed  upon  you  labor 
in  vain"  (Gal.  4:  9-11).  "I,  Paul,  say  unto  you  that  if  ye  be 
circumcised,  Christ  shall  profit  you  nothing;  for  I  testify  again  to 
every  man  that  is  circumcised  that  he  is  a  debtor  to  do  the  whole 
law.  Christ  is  become  of  no  effect  unto  you,  whosoever  of  you  are 
justified  by  the  law:  ye  are  fallen  from  grace"  (Gal.  5:  2-4). 
That  is;  circumcision  and  the  whole  ritual  system  has  no  farther 
mission,  has  no  longer  any  binding  force.  Before  Christ  came,  it 
led  toward  and  imto  Christ;  after'his  coming,  it  leads  away  from 
Christ;  forces  itself  in  as  a  substitute  for  Christ,  and  therefore 
must  be  rejected  and  denounced  as  ruinous  to  souls. With  ad- 
mirable and  wise  forbearance  the  Lord  allowed  the  converted  Jews 
time  on  this  great  change  from  Judaism  to  a  pure  Christianity;  but 
yet  gave  unmistakable  indications  of  his  will   to   rule   Judaism 


268  EZEKIEL.— CHAP.  XLVIII. 

proper  out  of  existence  as  a  thing  that  had  done  it3  work  and  could 
never  be  used  in  his  kini;;doni  any  more. And  now  is  it  cred- 
ible that  this  wall  of  partition  is  going  up  again  ?  that ''  ordinances," 
bloody  sacrifices,  all  and  more  than  all  that  the  Mosaic  system 
ever  had,  shall  be  restored  ?  If  it  were  to  be  restored  according  to 
the  literal  construction  of  Ezekiel  40-48  chapters,  what  would  it 
mean?  Would  it  point  to  another  Christ,  another  atoning  Lamb, 
another  great  High  Priest  to  make  intercession  for  us  ?  If  our 
present  New  Testament  be  accepted  as  authority,  a  return  to  Ju- 
daism is  forever  foreclosed.  The  testimony  of  Jesus  and  his  apos- 
tles on  this  point  could  not  be  made  stronger  than  it  is. Our 

Lord  spake  on  this  vital  question  in  decisive  terms.  Standing  in 
view  of  Mt.  Gerizim,  with  the  long  mooted  question  before  him 
whether  that  mount  or  Jerusalem  were  the  one  prescribed  locality 
for  all  acceptable  worship,  he  plainly  signified  that  this  question 
had  ceased  to  be  a  practical  one ;  that  the  whole  system  of  restrict- 
ing special  forms  of  worship  to  one  place  was  now  passing  by.  To 
the  Avoman  of  Samaria  he  solemnly  averred  (Jn.  4:  21-24);  "Wo- 
man, believe  me ;  the  hour  cometh  when  ye  shall  neither  in  this 
mountain  nor  yet  at  Jerusalem,  worship  the  Father.  The  hour 
cometh  and  now  is  when  the  true  worshipers  shall  worship  the 
Father  in  spirit  and  in  truth,"  implying  that  nothing  else  should 
be  requisite  for  acceptance  with  God.  So  long  as  sacrifices,  altars, 
and  a  visible  glory  in  the  most  holy  place  were  of  divine  appoint- 
ment, some  one  place  for  this  worship  would  be  a  necessity.  If 
these  prophecies  of  Ezekiel  are  literal,  that  necessity  must  return 
again,  and  the  words  of  our  Lord  to  the  woman  of  Samaria  must 
cease  to  have  force.  The  hour  must  arrive — with  the  literal  fulfill- 
ment of  Ezekiel — when  men  must  worship  God  as  of  old  in  the 
one  prescribed  place,  and  not  merely  in  spirit  and  in  truth,  but  in  all 

the  forms  of  ancient  Judaism  as  well. Did  Christ  anticipate 

this  supposed  change  back  to  Judaism?  Had  he  himself  inspired 
Ezekiel  to  predict  it?  The  question  is  its  own  answer !  There  can 
be  no  return  to  the  old  regime  of  one  only  place  of  acceptable  wor- 
ship; and  that,  in  the  forms  of  a  dead  Judaism!  Under  the  gospel 
economy,  every  pious  heart  is  God's  temple,  and  the  wide  world  is 
open  to  the  ofi'ering  of  each  heart's  truthful  homage  to  God.  This  gos- 
pel economy  can  never  in  any  future  age  give  place  to  Judaism. 

Yet  again.  The  inspired  apostles  were  in  all  vital  points  inspired 
interpreters  of  Old  Testament  prophecy.  In  all  that  affects  the 
great  elementary  features  of  the  old  system  and  of  the  new,  this 
position  must  be  valid,  else  their  inspiration  becomes  practically 

of  no  account. Inquiring  now  for  their  inspired  interpretation 

of  those  prophecies  which  speak  of  the  Christian  age,  we  may  fitly 
begin  with  asking  what  place  and  what  significance  they  assign  to 
the  temple  of  God  in  these  gospel  days.  rro)-)hecy  speaks  of  a 
temple  of  God  in  the  JNlessiah's  age ;  what  do  the  apostles  under- 
stand it  to  mean  ? They  answer  that  in  this  age  Christians  are 

themselves  the  temple  of  the  living  God,  and  that  "God  dwells  in 
them  and  walks  in  them,"     "Know  ye  not,"  (said  Paul,  1  Cor.  3- 


EZEKIEL.— CHAPS.  XL-XLVIII.  269 

10,)  "that  yc  are  the  temple  of  God  and  that  the  Sph-it  of  God 
dwelleth  in  you?"  "What!  know  ye  not  that  your  body  is  the 
temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost  which  is  in  you?"  (1  Cor.  G:  19.)  And 
then  as  if  to  clinch  this  argument,  Paul  cites  the  Old  Testament 
prophecy  in  which  God  said,  "I  will  dwell  in  them  and  walk  in 
them,"  and  finds  its  fulfillment  in  the  new  gospel  fact;  "Ye  are  the 

temple  of  the  living  God."     See  2  Cor.  6 :  16. Further,  ask  the 

apostle  James  how  he  understands  the  prophecy  of  Amos  (chap.  9 : 
11,  12)  about  rebuilding  the  fallen  tabernacle  of  David.  He  replies 
that  it  refers  to  the  conversion  of  the  Gentiles,  and  to  their  being 
gathered  into  the  Christian  Church.  He  gives  not  a  hint  of  the  lit- 
eral rebuilding  of  the  old  temple.  See  Acts  15:  13-18.  And  this 
was  the  doctrine  of  the  whole  Church  in  council  assembled  then 

and  there. Or  ask  the  Apostle  Paul  whether  he  connects  the 

future  conversion  of  the  Jews  with  their  restoration  to  their  own 
land.  Ask  him  if  he  assumes  that  these  two  events  will  be  coinci- 
dent, and  their  restoration  a  necessary  means  to  their  conversion. 
He  answers  that  he  knows  nothing  about  such  restoration.  Their 
conversion  to  Christ  he  believes  in,  rejoices  in  exultingly;  but  he 
has  not  the  first  hint  of  their  returning  to  their  own  land — much 
less  of  their  rebuilding  the  temple  of  wood  and  stone.     Examine 

his  words,  Rom.  11 :  11-36. Finally  the  old  system  and  the  now 

have  too  many  vital  points  of  dissimilarity,  not  to  say  antagonism, 
to  admit  of  being  amalgamated,  or  in  any  way  compounded  together. 
The  genius  of  the  old  was  restrictive,  exclusive,  and  put  itself  on 
the  defensive.  The  genius  of  the  new  is  expansive,  aggressive, 
framed  to  grasp  the  whole  world.  The  former  walls  itself  in  to  shut 
oiF  idolatry  and  all  contamination  from  the  world  without :  the  lat- 
ter faces  and  assails  the  idolatry  and  sin  of  the  world  every-where 
under  the  one  grand  behest ;  "  Go  ye  into  all  the  world,  and  preach 
the  Gospel  to  every  creature."  How  can  these  two  systems  amal- 
gamate? And  how  can  it  be  supposed  that  the  world  is  to  be 
converted  by  going  back  to  the  centralized  forms  of  Judaism  ? 

2.  The  evidence  from  the  Old  Testament,  i.  e.,  from  these  prophe- 
cies themselves,  considered  in  view  of  the  circumstances  of  their 
authors  and  first  readers,  has  been  frequently  referred  to  in  these 
notes,  and  hence  may  be  presented  with  the  more  brevity  here, 
In  a  word,  then,  these  prophets  were  Jews,  of  Jewish  educa- 
tion, with  only  Jewish  conceptions  of  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  with 
only  Jewish  terms,  phrases,  figures  and  symbols  for  expressing 
these  conceptions.  The  same  is  true  of  their  first  readers,  to  whom 
of  necessity  they  must  adapt  their  writings.  If  any  should  suggest 
here  that  the  Lord  himself  is  the  speaker  and  revealer,  still  the  case 
remains  the  same;  for  the  Lord  speaks  to  Jews,  whether  prophets 
or  people,  and  only  in  Jewish  language  and  figures.  Hence  the 
future  kingdom  of  Christ  must  be  revealed  to  the  prophets  and  to  the 
Jewish  people  in  words  and  symbols  drawn  from  the  existing  econ- 
omy. This  necessity  is  absolute,  if  the  Lord  aimed  to  reveal  any 
thing — if  he  aimed  to  speak  so  as  to  be  understood. T'his  prin- 
ciple is  introduced  here,  not  precisely  to  prove  that  these  prophecies 


270  EZEKIEL.— CHAPS.  XL-XLVIII. 

reveal  c;ospel  blessings,  but  to  account  for  their  phraseology  and 
their  symljols.  The  proof  that  they  teach  the  gloriously  converting 
power  of  the  Gospel  and  of  the  Spirit  of  God  in  the  latter  days 
comes  from  the  facts,  (1.)  That  they  refer  to  gospel  times.  (2.) 
That  they  must  therefore  be  construed  of  gospel  blessings,  and  not 
of  Mosaic  forms  and  ritualities:  and  (3.)  That  the  nature  and  mag- 
nitude of  these  symbols  demand  a  most  magnificent  fulfillment 
and.  can  be  satisfied  with  nothing  less."^ 

3.  It  remains  to  show  in  a  few  closing.words  that  in  the  nature  of 
the  case  the  literal  system  is  for  every  reason  intensely  improbable. 
Thus ;  That  the  ten  tribes,  thoroughly  lost  to  all  reliable  history  since 
their  captivity  tAvo  thousand  five  hundred  and  eighty-seven  years 
ago,  should  appear  again ;  produce  their  unbroken  and  distinct  gene- 
alogies ;  prove  their  identity,  and  file  into  their  places  in  the  allot- 
ment of  tribes  as  given  in  Ezek.  48,  is  violently  improbable,  f 

That  the  natural  boundaries  of  Palestine  should  be  miraculously 
changed  so  as  to  make  it  a  perfect  rectangle ;  that  the  great  river 
from  the  sanctuary  should  flow,  with  a  growth  so  unprecedented,  into 
the  Dead  Sea,  and  make  its  waters  salubrious,  fill  them  with  fish, 
etc.,  all  in  the  literal  sense,  is  very  improbable.  That  the  better 
times  of  the  gospel  age ;  its  one  period  of  most  perfect  beauty,  purity 
and  glory,  should  be  brought  about  by  receding  from  the  genius  of 

*  This  subject  is  discussed  somewhat  fully  in  my  notes  on  Zech.  12. 

t  Tlie  restoration  of  the  lost  ten  tribes  should  be  considered  in  the  light 
of  Bible  history.  Thus:  2  Kings  17  shows  that  the  ten  tribes  had  for- 
saken the  God  of  Israel,  and  were  therefore  utterly  i-ejected  with  no 
qualifying  promise  of  restoration  (vs.  17-20) :  that  their  captivity,  so  far 
as  known  to  the  sacred  historian,  was  final  (vs.  2o,  8f,  41) ;  that  the 
change  of  population  then  made  was  entire,  the  A.ssyrian  king  taking 
away  all  the  Hebrew  people,  and  filling  their  homes  and  country  with 
colonists  from  Assyria,  sendin";  back  only  one  priest  to  teach  them  the 
worship  of  the  former  God  of  tlie  land.    The  Samaritan  community  had 

scarcely  the  least  tinge  of  Isi-aelite  blood. -Next,  note  that  1  Chron.  5: 

25,  20  certifies  respecting  the  two  and  a  half  tribes  tlmt  they  were  cnrriod 
away  captive  ''unto  this  dai/;"  i.  e.,  up  to  the  date  of  the  last  fiuish- 
ing  toucli  of  this  genealogical  history,  which,  as  the  reader  will  see  by 
comparing  1  Chron.  9  with  Neh.  11,  comes  down  to  a  period  many  (13(j) 
years  later  than  the  first  return  of  the  Jews  with  Zerubbabel.  Nehemi- 
ah's  latest  date  is  B.  C.  400,  and  his  genealogies  correspond  with  those  of 
1  Chron.  9,  so  that  the  testimony  which  pieclu<les  the  restoration  of  the 
two  and  a  half  tribes  "down  to  this  (hxy  "  reaches  long  after  the  return 

of  the  Jews  to  Palestine  in  B.  C.  r):'>(M  1 1. And  finally  the  book  of  Ezra 

shows  (chap.  1 :  5}  that  the  returning  captives  were  "  the  fathei-s  of  Judah 
and  Benjamin  ; ''  in  chap.  2,  that  special  regard  was  had  to  the  point  of 
genealogy,  since  tho.se  are  named  who  could  not  make  out  their  record 
(vs.  r)9-G.)) ;  that  Ezra  gives  his  own  record  can^uUy  (7:  1-5),  and  also  that 
of  his  company  (8:  1-14),  and  of  the  Lcvites  (S:  l()-2(i);  but  gives  not  tho 

least  hint  of  the  ten  triljcs. Further,  his  )K)ok  shows  that  tlie  taking  of 

strange  [heathen]  wives  was  1  he  bi-setting  sin  of  the  people  (chaps.  9  and 
10),  which  the  testimony  of  Nehemiah  confirms  (chap.  18:  2;i-30).  If  this 
sin  needed  such  stringent  measures  to  withstand  it  among  the  Jews 
proper,  even  wiiile  residing  in  their  own  land,  how  much  more  must  tho 
ten  tribes  have  lost  their  distinct  nationality  by  its  power  over  them  in 

that  remote  land  of  Assyria? Thus  stands  the  historical  evidence  of 

Scripture  in  reference  to  the  restoration  of  the  ten  tri))e.s— utterly  and 
strongly  against  it.    In  the  light  ot  Scripture,  tlie  supposition  is  unhis- 

torical,  every  way  improbable,  and   in  nowise  credible. Hence  tho 

restoration  of  these  lost  tribes,  in  any  yet  future  age,  becomes  intensely 
improbable— virtually  impossible. 


F 


EZEKIEL— CIIArS.  XL-XLVIII.  271 

New  Testament  Christianity  to  the  genius  of  Judaism,  is  preemi- 
nently improbable.  That  the  Lord  should  subject  his  Gentile 
churches  to  the  same  terrible  contest  with  Judaism  which  cost  so 
much  martyr-blood  in  the  first  and  second  centuries,  is  improbable. 
That  he  should  subject  the  Jews  themselves  to  those  temptations  to 
bigotry,  exclusiveness,  and  uncharitableness,  which  in  the  first 
Christian  age  often  proved  too  stubborn  for  even  the  grace  of  the 
gospel,  is  improbable.  That  he  should  expose  them  to  the  power 
of  the  old  national  spirit  of  reliance  upon  ritual  forms  and  ceremo- 
nies, or  to  the  national  pride  in  which  they  accounted  themselves 
the  only  favored  people  of  God,  is  utterly  improbable.  And  finally, 
that  the  Lord  shouW  give  his  Church  in  the  future  age  a  system  in 
which  the  spirit  of  love,  purity  and  peace  is  lost  in  the  letter  of 
forms  and  ceremonies;  in  which  (as  e.  g.  in  Ezek.  47:  1-12)  you 
have,  instead  of  the  unexampled  glory  and  power  of  the  Divine 
Spirit,  only  a  beautiful  river  and  plenty  of  good  fish,  and  fruit-trees 
in  abundance  for  sensual  delights ;  in  short,  that  God  should  lead 
the  church  and  the  world  backward  from  a  spiritual  gospel  to  a  sen- 
sual paradise — is  utterly  improbable  and  even  incredible. For 

one,  1  rejoice  that  it  is.  I  rejoice  that  the  instincts  of  our  Christian 
nature  revolt  against  this  view  of  these  prophecies.  -  I  rejoice  that 
there  is  no  trustworthy  evidence  to  sustain  the  literal  interpreta- 
tion, and  that  the  figurative  view  is  amply  supported  by  evidence, 
unfolding  glorious  truth  in  harmony  with  the  whole  tenor  of  Old 
Testament  prophecy  and  of  New  Testament  interpretation  of  it,  and 
revealing  a  sublimely  grand  and  auspicious  future  for  the  kingdom 
of  our  divine  Redeemer.     Amex. 


DANIEL. 


PREFACE. 

The  best  of  commentators  have  interpreted  the  prophe- 
cies of  Daniel  variously.  It  is  only  natural  that  joeople 
"who  read  commentaries  should  think  as  variously,  save  that 
some  nlay  lose  confidence  in  any  of  the  j^roposed  systems  of 
interpretation — not  to  say,  confidence  that  any  reliable  sys- 
tem can  be  found.  Consequently  a  new  commentary  on 
"Daniel,  by  whomsoever  put  forth,  or  however  able,  must 
fail  to  meet  the  j)revious  view^s  of  all  its  possible  readers. 

In  the  outset,  therefore,  let  me  say  that  in  this  book 

I  dissent  from  some  worthy  critics,  not  through  any  lack  of 
deference  or  respect  for  them,  but  through  the  force  of  my 
own  convictions.  I  have  labored  upon  these  prophecies — 
not  to  harmonize  the  conflicting  opinions  of  others;  not  to 
select  the  most  worthy  and  follow  them;  not  to  meet  some 
foregone  and  favorite  scheme  of  fulfillment; — but  simply 
and  only  to  apply  what  I  deem  just  2:)rinciples  of  interpre- 
tation, and  thus  arrive  at  the  truth.  I  have  sought  to  ap- 
ply to  these  prophetic  words  and  symbols  those  great  j^rin- 
ciples  of  interpretation  which  legitimately  determine  the 
sense  of  all  language.  These  principles,  as  they  should 
apj)ly  to  Daniel,  I  have  briefly  presented  near  the  close  of 
my  General  Introduction.  I  submit  that  this  method  of 
reaching  the  truth  and  this  only  is  entitled  to  confidence. 

-My  earliest  views  of  these  prophecies  were  taken  from 

Dr.  Scott  and  Bishop  Newton — accepted  without  dissent, 
and  indeed,  without  rigorous  questioning.  But  being  called 
(some  twenty-eight  years  since)  to  the  responsibility  of  con- 
ducting theological  students  through  these  jorophecies,  I  was 
put  upon  a  rigorous  investigation  of  their  meaning.  It  was 
in  the  study  of  the  eleventh  chapter  that  I  first  saw  that 
their  system  palpably  violated  the  laws  of  philology.  It 
was  impossible  to  break  the  bonds  of  connection  which  held 
the  entire  passage  (chap.  11 :  21-45)  to  one  individual,  and 
this  one  a  king — the  well-know^n  "  king  of  the  north,"  An- 
tiochus  Epiphanes.  In  chap.  8,  the  force  of  God's  own 
interpretation  compelled  me  to  discard  the  Roman  theory, 

(273) 


274  DANIEL.— niEFACE. 

and  apply  ^vliat  is  said  of  the  "little  horn"  to  Antiochus. 
In  the  same  way,  the  interpretation  given  by  God  himself, 
coupled  with  the  metes  and  bounds  within  which  the  fulfill- 
ment is  located,  constrained  me  to  recast  my  former  system 
of  Dan.  7.  Then  the  proofs  of  general  parallelism  through- 
out his  four  great  prophecies  attracted  my  attention,  and 
being  found' invincible,  could  not  be  ignored.  Thus  through 
repeated  investigations,  renewed  from  time  to  time  during 
tsventy-five  years,  laboring  to  get  the  full  and  exact  sense 
of  all  that  Daniel  had  seen  and  said — laboring  also  to  make 
myself  master  of  his  stand-point  of  view,  and  to  enter  as 
fully  as  possible  into  his  relations  both  of  sympathy  and  of 
personal  and  public  ministry  for  his  people,  the  Jews ;  I 
have  gradually  matured  the  system  herein  presented.  Each  . 
successive  examination  has  contributed  to  clear  up  difficult 
points ;  to  bring  out  new  aspects  of  these  visions ;  to  sug- 
gest new  views  of  their  fitness  and  force ;  and  to  settle  more 
firmly  my  conviction  that  in  the  main  the  interpretation 
here  presented  will  stand  the  test  of  candid  scrutiny,  how- 
ever searching,  and  approve   itself  as    based   upon   sound 

principles  of  interpreting  prophecy. Somewhat  early  in 

the  course  of  these  studies,  a  fresh  impulse  was  given  them 
by  the  appearance  (1841-43)  of  the  views  of  Mr.  William 
Miller  on  the  Second  Advent.  It  is  only  on  rare  occasions 
that  such  a  stimulus  comes  to  quicken  prophetic  investiga- 
tion. The  student  of  prophecy  can  aftbrd  to  express  his 
obligation  (on  the  score  solely  of  stimulus  and  suggestion) 
to  the  very  crude  and  wild  sentiments  but  very  quickening 
impulses  of  that  extraordinary  movement.  Mr.  Miller  and 
his  associates  made  a  vigorous  but  not  legitimate  use  of 
various  errors  which  had  been  admitted  into  the  interpreta- 
tion of  this  book.  See  a  brief  Dissertation  U2)on  his  sys- 
tem at  the  close  of  this  volume. 

These  words,  personal  to  myself,  reluctantly  admitted 
here,  will  show  how  I  have  reached  my  present  views  and 
why  I  hold  and  express  them  so  strongly.  I  have  made 
these  allusions  to  the  rise  and  growth  of  the  scheme  of  in- 
terpreting Daniel  herein  presented,  with  no  wish  to  influ- 
ence any  reader's  mind,  save  by  the  force  of  argument,  yet 
as  a  sort  of  apology  for  inviting  all  readers,  of  every  shade 
of  opinion,  to  give  these  pages  a  candid  and  careful  exam- 
ination. 

• 

Oberlix,  0.,  Aug.,  18G7. 


DANIEL. 


GENERAL  .INTRODUCTION. 

I.  The  questions  of  personal  history  appropriate  to  an  introduc- 
tion are,  for  the  most  part,  readily  answered  from  the  book  itself. 

Daniel  comes  first  to  view,  a  Jewish  youth  of  the  royal  family,^ 
taken  captive  to  Babylon  in  the  first  deportation  of  captives,  in  the 
third  year  of  Jehoiakim,  B.  C.  606  or  607 ;  and  is  soon  after  selected 
with  others  for  his  wisdom,  eSiciency  and  agreeable  person,  to  be 
trained  in  the  learning  and  the  tongue  of  the  Chaldeans,  for  service 
under  the  king.  This  custom  of  taking  young  men  of  the  finest 
parts  from  a  captive  or  subject  race  to  fill  responsible  positions 
about  the  king,  has  prevailed  in  many  despotic  governments,  and  is 
essentially  the  usage  of  the  Turkish  empire  to  this  day.  It  finds  its 
motives,  (l.)In  the  fact  that  such  monarchs  need  men  about  them 
of  the  very  first  abilities;  (2.)  In  the  difiiculty  they  would  experience 
in  getting  young  men  of  such  ability  from  among  their  osvn  people 
who  might  not,  by  virtue  of  their  social  position  or  connections,  be- 
come dangerous  to  the  throne.  We  are  then  to  think  of  Daniel  as 
educated  thoroughly  in  the  language,  literature,  and  general  culture 
of  the  Chaldeans  (this  term  being  used  here  for  the  learned,  sacerdo- 
tal and  scientific  class,  and  not  for  the  mass  of  the  people),  but  yet 
as  adhering  with  noble  firmness  to  the  religious  faith  of  his  fathers. 
In  this  position,  he  developed  extraordinary  capacities  in  the  line  of 
wisdom,  fidelity  and  efiiciency,  and  consequently  rose  to  the  rank 
of  prime  minister  under  the  Chaldean  sovereigns,  Nebuchadnezzar 
and  Belshazzar,  and  remarkably,  attained  and  held  an  equally  ex- 
alted position  in  the  succeeding  dynasty,  the  Medo-Persian,  under 
Darius  the  Median  and  Cyrus.   . 

Daniel  must  have  lived  and  retained  his  vigor  to  a  great  age. 
The  period  during  which  he  appears  before  us  in  this  book,  from 
the  beginning  of  the  captivity  to  the  very  end  of  it,  was  seventy 
years,  and  we  may  reasonably  suppose  him  from  sixteen  to  twenty 
years  of  age  at  the  beginning  of  this  period,  and  of  course  almost 
ninety  at  its  close.  Yet  his  heart  appears  full  of  earnest  life  and 
power  in  his  memorable  prayer  for  his  people,  given  us  in  chap.  9, 
juBt  on  the  eve  of  the  restoration.  Tradition  holds  that  he  was  the 
special  instrument  under  God  of  obtaining  from  Cyrus  the  decree 

*  Josephus  says  that  Daniel  was  of  the  seed  of  Zcdekiah.  Aut.  Jud.  X : 
10.  The  text  says  only  "  of  the  king's  seed  and  of  the  princes."  Chap 
1:3. 

(275) 


27 G  DANIEL.— GENERAL  INTRODUCTION. 

for  the  restoration  of  his  people  to  their  own  land — no  small 
achievement  for  the  physical  stamina  of  a  patriarch  of  ninety ! 
Temperate  habits  through  the  whole  of  life,  and  a  soul  evermore 
steadfastly  stayed  on  God,  are  eminently  congenial  to  length  of 
days  and  to  freshness  and  vigor  of  days  as  well. 

II.  The  reader  will  recall  some  points  of  close  analogy  between 
Daniel  and  Joseph.  Both  were  captives ;  each  rose  in  a  foreign  king- 
dom to  the  same  rank  of  prime  minister,  by  the  same  qualities  of 
personal  character — sterling  integrity,  unselfish  devotion  to  their 
work,  great  business  capacity,  and  unfaltering  faith  in  God.  Each 
became,  under  God,  it  patron  and  protector  to  his  suffering  people. 
To  each  was  given  of  God  extraordinary  prophetic  powers  whicli 
served  to  raise  him  to  general  notice  and  confidence,  and  mani- 
festly in  the  case  of  Daniel,  served  to  exalt  the  God  of  the  Hebrew- 
race  highly  in  the  convictions  of  the  monarchs  under  whom  he 
served.  "  Each  was  able  to  distance  and  confound  all  the  pretend- 
ers to  supernatural  knowledge,  of  whom  there  were  many  both  in 
Egypt  and  in  Babylon. 

"111.  Here  it  may  be  well  to  notice  carefully  the  critical  objections 
made  in  modern  times  against  the  entire  book  by  those  icho  dcyiy  its 
genuineness  and  imjmgn  its  historic  veracity. First  in  time  by  Por- 
phyry, a  prominent  infidel  of  the  third  century,  but  most  ably  by  a 
considerable  body  of  recent  German  critics,  it  has  been  gravely  and 
confidently  denied  that  the  book  Avas  written  by  that  Daniel  whose 
name  it  bears,  whose  history  it  gives,  and  who  is  referred  to  by  Ezek- 
iel  (chap.  44;  14,  20,  and  28:  3)  and  also  by  our  Lord  himself  (Mat. 
24:  15,  IG).  They  also  impugn  the  general  veracity  of  its  historical 
accounts,  and  attempt  to  sustain  their  main  position  by  a  variety  of 
critical  objections.  They  claim  that  the  book  was  not  wi'itten  until 
after  the  death  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes  (B.  C.  163);  that  it  was  writ- 
ten shortly  after  that  event;  and  of  course  that  it  is  a  forgery  and 
contains  no  prophecy  whatever,  being  wi-itten  after  the  minute  events 
wdiich  its  pretended  visions  of  an  assumed  early  date  gave  forth  as 

prophecy. Their  central  point  is  the  denial  of  its  genuineness  and 

date;  i.  e.,  they  deny  that  it  was  written  by  that  Daniel  who  lived 
during  the  captivity,  or  by  any  one  else  at  that  time. As  collat- 
eral, yet  altogether  minor  points,  they  say  that  the  book  contains  some 
Greek  and  some  Persian  words,  which  evince  a  date  later  than  the 
captivity;  that  part  of  it  is  written  in  Chaldee  and  part  in  Hebrew; 
tiiat  the  tone  of  the  composition  is  peculiar,  unlike  that  of  the 
other  prophets;  that  its  miracles  are  grotesque;  that  its  doctrines 
respecting  angels,  the  Messiah,  and  an  ascetic  life,  indicate  a  later 
age;  and  iinally  that  Daniel  speaks  too  well  of  himself  and  was  too 

young  to  stand  so  high  as  he  appears  in  Ezekiel. These  minor 

points  shall  receive  due  attention  in  their  place;  the  main  one  should 
cume  first  in  order.  To  meet  their  central  and  main  dogma  some 
what  fundamentally,  I  maintain — 1.  That  the  Daniel  of  the  age  of  the 
ca[)tivity  was  a  very  prominent  man  in  Jewish  history.  Even  King 
David  was  scarcely  more  so.  He  was  a  city  set  on  a  hill,  known  to  all 
intelli'j;ent  Jews  of  that  age  and  onward  into  later  times.    Far  above 


DANIEL.— GENERAL  INTRODUCTION.  277 

all  other  Jews  of  his  time,  he  was  the  distinguished  man — prime 
minister  in  the  courts  successively  of  Nebuchadnezzar  and  Darius, 
and  promoted  to  the  very  highest  rank  by  Bclshazzar  just  on  the 
eve  of  kis  final  fall.  Obviously  not  the  doings  only  of  such  a  man 
but  his  writings  must  be  matters  of  public  notoriety.  By  how  much 
the  more  pronjinent  the  man,  and  by  how  much  the  more  highly 
esteemed  among  his  countrymen,  by  so  much  the  greater  would  be 
the  difficulty  of  putting  forth  forgeries  'in  his  name  successfully 
during  his  lifetime,  or  at  any  period  while  his  name  would  be 
worth  using  in  a  forged  production;  and  hence  by  so  much  the 
greater  would  be  the  certainty  that  written  documents  purporting 
to  be  from  him  would  be  genuine. 

2.  This  book  of  Daniel,  in  both  its  historic  and  prophetic  parts, 
is  closely  interwoven  with  his  actual  life.  It  is  not  easy  to  con- 
ceive how  any  book  could  be  more  so.  Both  the  outer  and  the  inner 
life  of  the  man  stand  out  in  his  writings  with  remarkable  distinct- 
ness. There  is  not  a  word  in  the  whole  book  that  does  not  fit  nat- 
urally and  closely  to  the  life,  to  the  heart,  and  to  the  whole  charac- 
ter of  this  prominent  man — Daniel  of  the  captivity.  Hence  the 
assumption  that  this  book  is  a  forgery,  gotten  up  three  hundred  and 
seventy  years  after  the  latest  record  of  his  life,  is  violently  improb- 
able— not  to  say,  utterly  incredible. 

3.  The  languages  iii  which  the  book  is  written  determine  its  age, 
proving  that  it  must  have  been  written  during,  or  very  near,  the 
captivity,  and  completely  disproving  the  fiction  of  Porphyry.  The 
facts  are  that  the  portion,  chaps.  2 :  4 — 7 :  28,  is  in  Ohaldee ;  all 
the  rest  in  Hebrew.  Now  the  period  of  the  captivity  is  the  only 
one  during  the  whole  range  of  Jewish  history  in  Avhich  one  of  the 
Jewish  sacred  books  could  have  been  wi-itten  thus,  a  part  in  each 
tongue.  For,  all  scripture  was  Avi-itten  for  the  common  people  and 
primarily  for  the  people  then  living.  This  was  the  only  period  in 
the  entire   national  history  of  the  Jews  in  which  they  understood 

both  these  lang-uages. Again,  this  was  the  only  period  in  which 

the  Chaldee  portion  could  have  been  reasonably  written,  for  the 
benefit  of  the  Chaldean  people.  Let  any  man  intelligent  in  history, 
think  of  the  Chaldee  portion  of  Daniel  as  ^vritten  for  the  Chaldean 
people  in  the  age  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes !  The  idea  is  simply 
absurd.     Babylon  had  then  almost  ceased  to  be.     Its  relations  to 

Nebuchadnezzar  were  all  forgotten  by  its  population. In  the 

book  of  Ezra,  chap.  5  throughout,  portions  of  chaps.  4,  6,  and  7,  are 
in  Chaldee,  and  a  verse  or  too  in  Jeremiah;  but  these  prophets 
were  substantially  in  the  same  age  with  Daniel. 

4.  Some  of  the  salient  points  in  the  history  found  in  this  book  are 
referred  to  in  subsequent  Jewish  history,  prior  to  the  death  of  Antio- 
chus Epiphanes,  in  a  way  which  renders  it  nearly  certain  that  the 
book  itself  was  then  extant  In  1  Mac.  2:  51-60,  the  venerable  Mat- 
tathias  of  Moden,  himself  then  near  death,  exhorts  his  squs  to  "  call 
to  remembrance  what  acts  their  fathers  did  in  their  time ; "  alludes 
successively  to  Abraham,  Joseph,  Phincas,  Joshua,  Caleb,  David 
and  Elijah;  and  then  adds:  "Ananias,  Azarias  and  Misacl,  by  be- 


278  DANIEL.— GENERAL   INTRODUCTION. 

licving,  wcro  saved  out  of  the  flame.  Daniel,  for  liis  innoccncy 
was  saved  from  the  mouth  of  lions."  These  words  were  spoken  ]jy 
^lattathias  before  the  date  fixed  by  these  German  critics  for  the 
writing  of  the  book  of  Daniel.  I  maintain  that  there  is  the  strong- 
est presumption  for  the  existence  of  this  book  long  before  the  death 
of  Epiphanes,  even  as  there  is  of  the  other  histories  drawn  from 
in  this  same  speech. Furthermore,  the  second  book  of  Macca- 
bees (chap.  7 :  9,  14,  36)  speaks  of  the  resurrection  in  a  way  not 
easily  accounted  for  otherwise  than  as  an  allusion  to  Dan.  12 :  2,  3. 
'Jlie  presumption  is  certainly  very  strong  that  the  dying  martyrs 
Avhose  words  are  there  quoted  must  have  had  this  twelfth  chapter 
in  their  hands.  Compare  what  Daniel  says  with  what  they  say. 
Daniel  thus :  "  Many  of  them  that  sleep  in  the  dust  of  the  earth  shall 
awake ;  some  to  everlasting  life,  and  some  to  shame  and  everlasting 
contempt:  and  they  that  be  wise  shall  s-hine  as  the  brightness  of  the 
firmament,  and  they  that  turn  many  to  righteousness  as  the  stars 
forever  and  ever."  The  martyrs  referred  to  say;  "Thou  like  a  fury 
takest  us  out  of  the  present  life,  but  the  King  of  the  world  shall 
raise  up  us  who  have  died  for  his  laws,  unto  everlasting  life."  "It 
is  good  being  put  to  death  by  men,  to  look  for  the  hopes  that  are 
of  (xod,  to  be  raised  up  again  by  him ;  but  for  thee  there  shall  bo 
no  resurrection  unto  life."  "For  now  our  brethren,  after  enduring 
brief  pain,  have  fallen  under  God's  covenant  of  everlasting  life;  but 
thou,  under  God's  judgment,  shall  receive  the  just  punishment  for 
thy  pride."  And  yet  further,  there  can  scarcely  bo  a  doubt  that 
these  visions  of  Daniel,  especially  the  last  (chaps.  10-12)  inspired 
the  faith,  zeal,  and  hope  of  the  li£roic  Maccabees  through  their 
terrific  struggle.  Their  words  and  deeds  evince  the  power  of  such 
inspirations;  the  truths  taught  in  Daniel  were  adapted  (must  we  not 
say  designed)  of  God  for  such  results. 

5.  Josephus  is  a  valuable  Jewish  witness.  A  man  of  eminent 
learning,  in  very  high  repute  among  his  countrymen,  the  author  of 
a  full  and  very  elaljorate  history  of  the  Jewish  nation  fron\  Abra- 
ham down  to  the  destruction  of  their  city  by  the  Romans  (A.  D.  70) ; 
born  A.  D.  37  and  publishing  his  works  in  the  latter  part  of  the  first 
century;  his  testimony  to  the  current  opinions  of  his  nation  can  not 
be  impeached,  lie  speaks  (Ant.  Xll:  7:  0)  of  the  prophecies  of 
Daniel  as  being  "uttered  four  hundred  and  eight  years  before;"  i.  e. 
before  the  events  in  the  time  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes.  lie  also 
says  (Ant.  X:  11:  7),  "All  these  things,  he  (Daniel)  left  in  writing, 
God  exhibiting  them  to  him,  so  that  those  avIio  read,  observant  of 
the  events,  must  needs  look  on  Daniel  with  wonder  on  account  of 

the  honor  done  to  him  by  God." The  fiction  of  these  modern 

(ierman  critics  is  squarely  confronted  by  this  testimony  of  Josephus. 
They  say  Daniel  did  not  write  the  book  which  bears  his  name; 
Josephus  says  he  did.  They  deny  the  fact  of  any  real  prophecy  in 
this  book;  Josephus  specially  allirms  it,  and  dix-lares  it  to  be  of  the 
most  extraordinary  and  unquestionable  character. 

0.  Yet  again,  we  have  the  testimony  of  .losephns  that  this  very 
book  of  Daniel  was  shown  by  the  High  l*riest  Jaddua  to  Alexander 


DANIEL.— GENERAL   INTllODUCTION.  279 

the  Great  in  the  jear  B.  C.  332.  The  circumstances  stronn;ly  con- 
firm this  statement,  to  this  extent  at  least;  for  Alexander  certainly 
spared  the  Jews  and  their  city ;  took  them  into  fiivor,  and  exempted 
them  from  the  tribute  which  it  was  his  custom  to  impose  on  subject 
nations.  This  was  sixty-six  years  before  the  earliest  date  allowed 
by  these  critics  for  the  existence  of  this  book  of  Daniel. 

7.  There  can  be  scarcely  a  doubt  that  the  book  of  Daniel  was 
translated  into  the  Septuagint  one  hundred  years  before  the  German 
skeptics  admit  it  to  have  existed.  Some  points  in  respect  to  the 
authors  of  this  celebrated  version  and  to  its  production  remain  con- 
siderably obscure;  but  there  is  no  ground  for  doubt  that  it  was 
made  within  the  reigns  of  the  first  two  Ptolemies  in  the  Greek 
Egyptian  dynasty,  and  at  the  request  and  with  the  aid  of  these  two 
kings.  Their  reigns  fill  the  period  B.  C.  323-246.  The  Pentateuch 
was  brought  out  first,  and  about  B.  C.  285.  It  might  be  difficult  to 
show  when  the  whole  work  was  completed,  or  when  the  translation 
of  Daniel  was  made.  But  the  whole  was  manifestly  c«"ried  through 
in  the  same  general  movement,  for  the  same  common  purposes  and 
objects,  and  hence,  in  all  probability,  without  unnecessary  delay. 
The  book  of  Daniel  was  in  that  version.  It  must,  therefore,  with  the 
highest  probability,  have  been  translated  before  A.  D.  163.  It  is 
not  conceivable  that  one  hundred  and  twenty  years  could  have  been 
occupied  in  completing  this  work. 

8.  The  book  of  Daniel  was  brought  into  the  accepted  canon  of 
the  Old  Testament  scriptures  not  later  than  the  close  of  the  reign 
of  Artaxerxes  Longimanus  (B.  C.  474-424);  i.  e.,  not  far  from  three 
hundred  years  before  the  death  of  Epiphanes.  Here  Josephus  is  a 
competent  witness.  He  says:  "We  have  not  a  countless  number 
01  books,  discordant  and  arrayed  against  each  other,  but  only  twenty- 
two  books;  which  are  justly  accredited  as  divine."  Of  these,  five 
are  the  books  of  Moses :  "  four  contain  hymns  to  God  and  rules  of 
life  for  men."  [This  leaves  thirteen  which  were  historical  and  pro- 
phetical. In  our  modern  arrangement  as  compared  with  that  given 
by  Josephus,  several  are  subdivided.  The  thirteen  included  all  the 
did  Testament,  not  embraced  in  the  two  other  portions.]  Of  this 
body  of  thirteen,  Josephus  says ;  "  From  the  death  of  INloses  to  the 
reign  of  Artaxerxes,  king  of  Persia  after  Xerxes,  the  prophets  who 
fi^llowed  Moses  have  described  the  things  which  were  done  during 
the  age  of  each  one  respectively.  From  the  time  of  Artaxerxes 
until  our  present  period,  all  occurrences  have  been  written  down, 
but  they  are  not  regarded  as  entitled  to  the  like  credit  icith  those  which 
preceded  them  because  there  was  no  certain  sticcession  of  prophets .'' 
Hence  the  canon  of  books  accepted  as  inspired  comes  down  througli 
the  reign  of  Artaxerxes  but  no  further.  The  twenty-two  books  of 
our  accepted  Old  Testament — Daniel  included — were  all  written, 
according;  to. Josephus,  before  that  reign  closed;  i.  e.,  say  at  least 
before  BT  C.  400. 

9.  It  is  remarkable  that  the  time  assigned  by  these  German  critics 
for  the  writing  of  this  book  of  Daniel  was  one  in  which  the  leading 
Jews  knew  they  had  no  prophet  among  them — knew  they  had  not 


280  DANIEL.— GENERAL  INTRODUCTION. 

had  one  for  many  years  past — and  could  not  expect  one  for  many 
years  to  come.  That  is,  the  existing  state  of  opinion  was  thoroughly 
adverse  both  to  the  writing  and  to  the  reception  of  such  a  forgery 
as  they  claim  this  book  to  be.  IJut  it  requires  a  peculiarly  facile 
state  of  public  feeling  toward  the  main  purpose  and  scope  of  a  for- 
gery to  admit  of  its  success.     Against  strong  public  convictions,  it 

never  could  succeed. What  was  the  state  of  the  public  mind 

here  ? The  author  of  the  first  book  of  Maccabees  (writing  about 

B.  C.  135),  describing  the  calamities  that  came  upon  Judea  in  con- 
sequence of  the  death  of  Judas  Maccabeus  {B.  C.  161),  says,  "that 
there  was  great  affliction  in  Israel,  such  as  had  not  been  since  the 
last  prophet  appeared  among  them."  He  manifestly  implies  that 
this  had  been  a  long  time.  It  was  then  about  two  hundred  and 
seventy  years  since  the  latest  reliable  date  for  the  prophet  Mala- 

chi. Again,  according  to  1  Mac.  4:  16,  the  Jews  laid  away  the 

polluted  stones  of  the  altar  set  up  by  Antiochus  Epiphanes  in  their 
holy  temple,  "  until  the  coming  of  some  prophet  to  decide  respecting 

them." And  further  according  to  I.Mac.  14:  41,  "Simon  was 

constituted  leader  and  high  priest  forever  ['eis  ton  aiona']  until 
some  faithful  prophet  should  arise  " — a  passage  which  manifestly 
looks  to  the  Messiah,  and  indicates  that  they  expected  no  prophet 
till  he  should  come. These  indications  of  current  public  senti- 
ment existing  among  the  Jews  both  at  the  period  shortly  after  the 
death  of  Antiochus  (just  when  these  critics  would  bring  out  this 
prophecy  of  Daniel)  and  also  at  the  time  when  the  first  book  of 
Maccabees  was  written  (full  thirty  years  later),  go  far  to  show  that 
their  theory  paid  not  the  least  regard  to  the  existing  state  of  the 
public  mind  at  the  time  fixed  for  its  appearance.  They  did  not 
look  to  see  whether  it  could  have  been  written  then,  or  whether, 
if  written,  it  could  have  been  imposed  upon  and  wi'ought  into  the 
confidence  of  the  people.     Were  ever  great  critics  so  uncritical ! 

The  arguments  thus  far  adduced  against  the  great  central  position 
of  the  critics  in  question  have  designedly  been  of  that  historical  and 
critical  sort  which  those  who  impugn  Daniel  usually  delight  to 
honor.      It  seemed  well  first  of  all   to   meet  them  on  their  OAvn 

ground. -It  remains  to  adduce  yet  one  argument  which  those 

who  recognize  the  divine  mission  of  Jesus  Christ  as  the  great 
Teacher  sent  from  God,  will  surely  honor.  Our  divine  Lord  him- 
self refers  (Mat.  24;  15,  16)  to  Daniel  and  to  this  bot>k  of  his,  in 
these  words;  "  AVhen  ye  shall  see  the  abomination  of  desolation, 
spoken  of  by  Daniel  the  prophet,  stand  in  the  holy  place  (whoso 
readeth  let  him  understand) ;   Then  let  them  which  be  in  Judea 

flee  into  the  mountains." Here  note  distinctly, — (1.)  That  our 

Lord  recognizes  Daniel  as  "a  prophet."  (2.)  (^)uotes  some  of  his 
written  prophecies;  i  e.,  from  Dan.  9:  27.  (3).  Hence  he  witnesses 
that  Daniel  wrote  his  own  pro])hecies — specially  this  book  that 
bears  his  name;  (4.)  And  finally  that  this  book  of  his  should  be 
read  and  accepted  as  a  part  of  the  inspired  Jewish  sacred  scrip- 
tures.  In  view  of  such  testimony,  those  who  honor  Jesus  Christ 

will  regard  the  question  of  the  genuineness  and  veracity  of  thia 


DANIEL.— GENERAL  INTRODUCTION.  281 

book  of  Daniel  as  settled. r«ut  it  will  bo  asked,  AVhat  do  these 

skeptical  critics  say  in  support  of  their  positions? 1.  To  sup- 
port their  main,  central  position,  they  begin  with  denying  the  fact 
of  any  inspired  prophecy  either  here  or  elsewhere,  and  resolving  all 
predictions  of  future  events  into  human  sagacity  or  unfounded  an- 
ticipations. But  inasmuch  as  this  book  of  Daniel  records  as  proph- 
ecy a  long  series  of  very  minute  historic  events  far  in  the  future 
(e.  g.,  in  chaps.  11  and  8),  as  well  as  the  general  succession  of  great 
dynasties — too  much  to  be  attributed  to  human  sagacity — they  in- 
sist that  the  book  must  have  been  written  after  these  events  took 
place.  This  they  maintain  is  the  common  law  of  historical  criticism. 
If  an  ancient  book  of  history  should  come  to  light,  all  critics  would 
settle  the  question  of  its  date  on  the  assumption  that  it  was  written 
later  than  the  events  it  records. 

I  reply,  This  is  very  true  of  what  is  merely  human  history ;  not 
at  all  true  of  divinely-inspired  prophecy.  The  fact  of  a  really  di- 
vine inspiration  constitutes  a  bold  exception.  The  plausibility 
of  this  modern  plea  against  Daniel  lies  in  its  tacitly  ignoring  this 
distinction. 

(2.)  All  the  other  points  made  in  the  attack  upon  Daniel  are 
trivial;  e.  g.,  as  above  stated,  that  the  book  contains  some  Greek 
words  and  some  Persian ;  that  part  of  it  is  written  in  Chaldee  and 
part  in  Hebrew;  that  the  tone  (5f  the  composition  is  peculiar — un- 
like that  of  the  other  prophets ;  that  its  miracles  are  grotesque,  and 
its  ideas  respecting  angels,  the  Messiah,  and  an  ascetic  life,  indicate 
unmistakably  a  late  age;  and  finally  that  Daniel  speaks  too  well 
of  himself,  and  was  too  young  to  stand  so  high  as  he  appears  in 
Ezekiel. 

The  candid  and  intelligent  reader  will  readily  see  that  these 
points  are  trivial.  For  there  are  not  more  Greek  or  Persian  words 
here  than  ought  to  be  expected  in  an  author  living  and  writing  in 
the  great  commercial  and  political  center  of  the  known  world.  For 
this  known  world  at  that  time  practically  embraced  both  Greece 

and  Persia. There  were  the  best  of  reasons  for  writing  some 

portions  in  Chaldee;  viz.,  the  special  benefit  of  the  Chaldean  peo- 
ple. If  the  book  had  been  written  wholly  in  Hebrew,  a  much 
stronger  objection  could  be  raised  against  it,  as  scarcely  credible 
in  view  of  the  author's  relations  to  the  Chaldean  people,  govern- 
ment, and  language.     On  the  other  hand  there  were  some  good 

reasons  for  writing  some  of  it  in  Hebrew. Further,  the  cast  of 

the  book  is  unobjectionable.  True,  it  is  part  history  and  part 
prophecy;  but  it  is  all  the  more  useful  for  this;   was  all  needed 

at  the  time,  and  needed  from  this  author. True,  he  uses  s^pn- 

hols;  but  so  did  Ezekiel  and  Zechariah — prophets  nearest  his  age 
and  of  most  similar  surroundings :  and  (what  is  not  less  worthy 
of  note)  his  symbols  arc  remarkably  Chaldean^  as  recent  discoveries 

most  abundantly  attest. Yet  further,  its  miracles,  so  far  from 

being  "grotesque,"  arc  morally  grand  and  solemnly  impressive. 
Note  how  the  salvation  of  those  three  men  in  the  furnace  and  of 
Daniel  in  the  den  of  lions  affected  in  each  case  the  king  on  his 


282  DANIEL.— GENERAL  INTRODUCTION. 

throne. As  to  its  doctrines  respecting  angels  and  the  Messiah, 

why  should  there  not  be  some  advance  in  ideas  on  these  points,  as 
compared  ^\ith  those  of  previous  prophets  ?  And  who  can  say  that 
the  advance  manifest  in  Daniel  is  too  great  for  the  period  of  the 
captivity  and  for  the  extraordinary  piety  and  prominence  of  the 

man? The   charge  of  being  prematurely  ascetic  looks   toward 

Daniel's  refusing  the  dainties  of  the  king's  table — for  which,  how- 
ever, ample  reasons  may  be  supposed,  entirely  apart  from  ascet- 
icism. Or,  perhaps,  toward  a  special  case  in  which  he  "  ate  no 
pleasant  bread,  flesh  or  wine,  for  three  weeks"  (chap.  10:  2,  3) — 
a  form  and  degree  of  abstinence  due  to  his  extraordinary  state  of 
mind  at  a  time  when  God  came  inefiiibly  near  to  reveal  to  him 
"what  should  befall  his  people  in  the  latter  days." As  to  Dan- 
iel's speaking  of  his  own  wisdom  and  being  too  young  to  have 
attained  such  a  reputation  as  Ezekiel's  references  to  him  imply, 
let  it  be  noted  that  in  the  main  passage  in  question  (chap.  1:17, 
19,  20)  Daniel  speaks  not  of  himself  alone  but  of  all  the  four  Jew- 
ish youth,  saying  only  what  was  doubtless  true ;  and  that  he  speci- 
fies of  himself  in  particular  only  that  he  had  "  understanding  in  all 
visions  and  dreams."  This  is  one  of  the  most  prominent  facts  of 
the  history,  and  for  this  reason  deserved  mention.  In  the  detailed 
record,  Daniel  bears  himself  Avith  extraordinary  modesty  and  Chris- 
tian humility. Daniel  may  have  been  young  when  Uod  by  Eze- 

kiel  spake  in  high  terms  of  his  wisdom.  If  the  history  in  the  book 
is  true,  Daniel  rose  to  distinction,  not  slowly,  but  by  one  bound,  in 
the  second  year  of  the  king  and  of  his  own  captivity.  He  was 
therefore  very  great  while  very  young.  Why  should  not  God  speak 
of  men  according  to  truth?  Such  great  capacity  so  early  in  life 
is  not  altogether  without  precedent.  Though  rare,  it  is  possible, 
and  therefore  not  incredible.  William  Pitt  became  prime  minister 
of  England  at  the  age  of  twenty-four.  Charles  XII  and  Napoleon 
evinced  their  transcendent  military  genius  at  a  yet  earlier  age. 

That  Daniel  was  so  young  yet  so  exalted  in  position  and  in  rep- 
utation at  the  court,  served  to  make  his  name  the  more  notable 

among  both  Jews  and  Chaldeans. It  will  be  found  that  the 

more  thoroughly  all  these  critical  o])jcctions  against  the  book  of 
Daniel  are  examined,  the  more  they  serve  to  bring  out  and  brighten 
the  evidence  of  its  being  written  at  the  time,  and  by  the  veritable 
Daniel  of  that  age. 

Having  indicated  thus  very  briefly  the  special  points  of  these 
critical  objections,  and  alluded  in  few  words  to  their  uncritical  na- 
ture and  to  their  entire  lack  of  force,  I  proceed  to  strengthen  the 
whole  argument  for  the  genuineness  of  this  book  and  for  its  historic 
credibility  by  adducing  collateral  evidence  that  the  historical  no- 
tices found  here  are  strictly  correct;  that  they  evince  a  most  ac- 
curate acquaintance  with  Chaldean  life,  and  are  verified  most 
abundantly  by  all  that  is  known  of  those  times  through  profane 
sources  ancient  or  recent;  and  therefore  can  not  have  been  loritten 

(as  is  claimed) /ok?-  hundred  years  after  the  ago  of  the  cajytivity. 

This  argument  from  collateral  history,  coming  up  from  entirely  in- 


DANIEL.— GENERAL  INTRODUCTION.  283 

dependent  sources,  embraces  a  considerable  number  of  distinct 
points. 

(a.)  The  captivity  and  deportation  of  tlie  Jews  to  Babylon  under- 
lies the  entire  history  of  this  book.  Now,  this  great  fact  in  the 
history  of  that  people  is  not  only  confirmed  by  the  prophecies  of 
Isaiah,  Jeremiah,  and  many  of  the  minor  prophets ;  by  the  his- 
tories of  the  books  of  Kings  and  Chronicles ;  of  Ezra  and  of  Xehe- 
miah;  but  also  by  ample  heathen  testimonies.  Indeed  it  was  a 
permanent  feature  in  the  policy  of  the  Assyrian,  Chaldean,  and 
rersian  governments  for  the  subjugation  of  conquered  countries, 
especially  the  restive  and  refractory,  to  remove  them  from  their 
own  to  other  and  remote  lands,  and  thus  uproot  the  love  of  home 
and  country,  and  sever  the  social  bonds  that  might  else  make  them 
dangerous  to  the  great  central  power.  In  addition  to  the  ample 
evidence  to  this  general  feature  of  their  policy,  there  is  the  special 
testimony  of  Berosus,  the  great  Chaldean  historian,  who  wrote  in 
the  age  of  Alexander  the  Great.  In  a  passage  which  describes  the 
expedition  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  then  crown  prince  and  general  of 
the  army,  against  the  Egyptians,  Syrians  and  Phenicians  in  revolt, 
in  which  he  fought  and  won  the  great  battle  of  Carchemish,  he 
says;  "Not  long  after,  Nebuchadnezzar,  having  heard  of  the  death 
of  his  father  (the  king)  when  he  had  settled  the  affairs  of  Egypt  and 
the  adjacent  regions,  and  had  arranged  with  certain  of  his  friends 
to  bring  to  Babylon  the  captives  of  the  Jews . . .  came  himself  with 
great  haste  and  v/ith  a  small  company  through  the  wilderness  to 
Babylon.  There,  assuming  the  administration  of  affairs  ...  he  suc- 
ceeded to  all  his  father's  dominions;  and  when  the  captives  arrived, 
he  appointed  colonies  for  them  in  the  most  suitable  parts  of  Baby- 
lonia.' 

(6.)  The  personal  history,  character  and  achievements  of  Nebu- 
chadnezzar stand  out  prominently  in  this  book  of  Daniel.  He  is 
here  a  monarch  of  great  energy,  of  indomitable  will,  ruling  a  vast 
empire,  and  especially  building,  or  more  strictly,  ?-c-building  and 
greatly  enlarging,  Babylon.  His  insanity  for  seven  years ;  his  re- 
moval from  the  management  of  public  affairs  during  this  period, 
and  his  restoration  again  first  to  reason  and  then  to  power,  consti- 
tute very  peculiar  features  of  his  history  as  it  appears  in  this  book. 
That  he  was  an  idolater  and  that  he  worshiped  some  one  god  in 
particular  is  also  manifest.  See  for  the  latter  point  chap.l :  2;  "to 
the  house  of  his  god;"  "into  the  treasure-house  of  his  god;"  and 
chap.   4:  8,  "according  to  the  name  of  my  god."     Moreover,  we 

read  much  of  images  of  gold. ^The  length  of  his  1re?»ien  is   not 

definitely  given  in  Daniel,  but  the  general  cast  of  the  history  im- 
plies that  it  was  long.  The  books  of  Kings,  Chronicles,  and  Jere- 
miah give  the  desired  data.  Jehoiakim  reigned  about  eleven  years ; 
in  his  fourth  year,  the  first  large  deportation  of  captives  took  place. 
Daniel  was  among  them.  Nebuchadnezzar  was  then  just  ascend- 
ing his  throne.  Johoiachin,  the  son,  succeeded;  reigned  three 
months,  was  then  carried  captive  to  Babylon,  kept  there  in  prison 
at  least  thirty-six  full  years,  and  in  his  thirty-seventh  was  taken 


284  DANIEL.— GENERAL  INTRODUCTION. 

out  of  prison  by  Evil-Merodach,  the  immediate  successor  of  Nebu- 
chadnezzar, and  in  the  first  year  of  his  reign.  Hence,  Nebuchad- 
nezzar's reign  is  measured  thus;  about  seven  years  contemporary 
Avith  Jchoiakim,  one-fourth  of  a  year  with  Jehoiachin  reigning; 
thirty-six  with  Jehoiachin  a  prisoner,  equal  to  forty-three. 

Let  us  now  turn  to  confirmations  from  profane  history.  And 
first  on  this  last  mentioned  point ;  profane  history  makes  his  reign 
precisely  forty  three  years.  This  is  the  language  of  Berosus :  "  Now 
Nebuchadnezzar,  just  as  he  began  to  build  the  aforesaid  wall,  fell 
sick  and  died,  after  having  reigned  forty-three  years."  The  cele- 
brated canon  of  Ptolemy  (an  ofiicial  register  of  the  kings  of  Assyria 
and  Babylon)  assigns  him  forty-three  years;  viz.,  from  B.  C.  G04:  to 
B.  C.  561.  A  clay  tablet,  discovered  recently,  almost  proves  the  same 
thing.  These  tablets  are  mostly  orders  on  the  imperial  treasury, 
dated  in  the  current  year  of  the  reigning  monarch.  The  one  referred 
to  dates  in  his  forty-second  year.     Of  course  his  reign  can  not  have 

been  less  than  this;    may  have  been  more. That  all  profane 

history  makes  him  a  great  king,  great  in  war,  but  greater  in  peace, 
is  well  known.  That  he  was  the  great  rebuilder  of  Babylon  is 
affirmed  by  Berosus  thus;  "Nebuchadnezzar  repaired  the  city 
which  had  existed  from  the  first,  and  added  another  to  it;  and  in 
order  that  besiegers  might  not  again  be  able,  by  turning  aside  the 
course  of  the  river,  to  get  possession  of  the  city,  he  built  three 
courses  of  walls  around  the  inner  city  and  as  many  around  the 
outer. '  But  the  most  remarkably  confirming  fact  is  of  recent  de- 
velopment, viz.,  that  nine-tenths  of  the  inscribed  bricks  from  the  site 
of  ancient  Babylon  are  stamped  with  the  name  of  Nebuchadnez- 
zar ! Concerning  the  extraordinary  fact  of  his  temporary  insanity 

and  removal  from  his  throne,  we  might  naturally  be  inquisitive  to 
see  what  the  public  records  of  the  realm  would  say  and  what  ver- 
sion of  it  would  pass  into  current  and  future  history.  Bearing  in 
mind  that  the  strong  moral  impression  which  extorted  such  an  ac- 
knowledgment of  the  one  true  God  as  we  find  in  chap.  4 :  34-o7, 
was  obviously  not  abiding;  at  least  was  not,  in  the  Christian  sense, 
converting ;  and  considering  also  that  he  lived  to  modify  the  public 
records  at  his  own  pleasure,  we  can  not  expect  a  very  frank  con- 
fession of  the  whole  case. Now  as  to  the  facts :   Berosus  makes 

no  decisive  allusion  to  this  event.  But  on  what  is  known  as  "the 
Standard  Inscription  of  Nebuchadnezzar,"  the  following  passage 
occurs.  The  first  clause  is  defective,  some  words  being  illegible; 
but  the  statements  as  a  whole  are  remarkably  negative^  and  silent 

as  to  the  causes. "Four  years  . . .  the  seat  of  my  kingdom  in  the 

city  .  . .  which  .  .  .  did  not  rejoice  my  heart.  In  all  my  dominions, 
1  did  not  build  a  high  place  of  power;  the  precious  treasures  of 
my  kingdom  I  did  not  lay  up.  In  Babylon,  buildings  for  myself 
and  for  the  honor  of  my  kingdom,  I  did  not  lay  out.  In  the  wor- 
ship of  Merodach,  my  lord,  the  joy  of  my  heart,  in  Babylon,  the 
city  of  his  sovereignty  and  the  seat  of  my  empire,  I  did  not  sing 
his  praises  and  I  did  not  furnish  his  altars  [with  victims],  nor  did  1 
clear  out  the  canals." iSo  much  could  not  well  be  ignored  on  the 


DANIEL.— GENERAL  INTRODUCTION.  285 

public  records.     What  was  more  than  this,  human  pride  prevailed 

against  unwelcome  truth  to  suppress. Mr.  Kawlinson  remarks 

that  "  the  whole  range  of  cuneiform  literature  presents  no  similar 
instance  of  a  king  putting  on  record  his  own  inaction."  It  is  in 
human  nature  that  kings  should  chronicle  and  send  down  to  future 
ages  what  they  have  done^  not  what  they  have    left  undone. 

Yet  further;  according  to  the  Scriptures  Nebuchadnezzar  only 
of  all  the  heathen  monarchs  there  referred  to,  had  revelations  of 
the  future  in  visions.  Correspondingly,  this  remarkable  record 
comes  do^sTi  to  us  from  the  ancient  historian  Abydenus,  as  quoted 
by  Eusebius;  somewhat  inaccurate  as  to  the  facts  and  apparently 
ascribing  to  Nebuchadnezzar  in  part  what  pertains  to  Belshazzar. 

"Afterward,  as  is  said  by  the  Chaldeans,  he  went  up  into  his 

palace,  when  he  was  seized  by  some  divine  influence,  and  uttered 
these  words; — 'O  Babylonians,  I,  Nebuchadnezzar,  announce  to  you 
this  future  calamity.  There  shall  come  a  Persian  mule,  using  our 
divinities  as  allies :  he  shall  bring  us  into  bondage :  leagued  with 
him  shall  be  the  Mede,  the  boast  of  Assyria.'     Having  uttered  these 

predictions,  he   immediately  disappeared." His  devotion  to  his 

own  god  Merodach,  (akin  to  the  planet  Jupiter)  may  be  noticed  in 
the  extract  above  given  from  his  standard  inscription.  It  appears 
every-where  in  the  monumental  records  of  Nebuchadnezzar.  Kaw- 
linson states  that  "  the  inscriptions  (of  this  king)  always  terminate 
with  a  prayer  to  Merodach,  invoking  the  favor  of  the  god  for  the 
protection  of  the  king's  throne  and  empire,  and  for  its  continuance 
through  all  ages  to  the  end  of  time."  Remarkably,  Nebuchadnez- 
zar, though  living  in  an  age  of  polytheism,  seems  to  have  concen- 
trated his  reverence,  worship,  and  trust,  mainly  upon  this  one  god.- 
His  language  on  his  inscriptions  runs  thus;  "Merodach,  the  great 
lord,  has  appointed  me  to  the  empire  of  the  world,  and  has  confided 
to  my  care  the  far-spread  people  of  the  earth;"  "Merodach,  the 
gi-eat  lord,  the  senior  of  the  gods,  the  most  ancient,  has  given  all 
nations  and  people  to  my  care:"   "Merodach,  the  great  lord,  has 

established  me  in  strength." This,  it  will  be  seen  harmonizes 

with  the  repeated  references  in  Daniel,  to  "his  own  god." It 

should  be  noted  that  the  full  name  of  this  god  is  Bel-Merodach; 
that  it  was  originally  Bel;  and  hence  probably  Merodach  was  first 
appended,  and  then  came  to  be  used  often  alone.-  Of  Daniel,  Neb- 
uchadnezzar remarks  (chap.  4:  18),  "whose  name  was  Belteshaz- 
zar,  according  to  the  name  of  my  god" — said  with  reference  to  the 

leading  syllable,  "  BeV Again,  Daniel  represents  "  gods  of  gold  " 

as  common  in  Babylon.  See  chap.  3 :  I,  and  5 :  4.  The  historic 
facts  are  that  Nebuchadnezzar  made  some  extensive  conquests  im- 
mediately before  he  ascended  the  throne  and  others  shortly  after- 
ward ;  that  plunder  of  all  most  valuable  things,  or  enormous  tribute, 
was  the  law  of  conquest  in  that  age ;  and  that  gold  was  especially 
devoted  to  the  service  of  the  gods  and  wrought  into  their  images. 
Kawlinson  considers  it  proven  that  "  the  statue  of  Jupiter  Belus, 
described  by  Herodotus,  is  the  same  as  the  great  idol  of  Merodach, 
which  was  made  of  silver  by  an  earlier  king,  but  was  overlaid  with 


28G  DANIEL.— GENERAL  INTRODUCTION. 

plates  of  gold  by  Nebuchadnezzar." These  points  of  corre- 
spondence between  sacred  history  and  profane,  out  of  the  life  of 
Nebuchadnezzar,  must  suffice. 

(c.)  The  history  of  IJelshazzar  affords  another  point  of  striking 

confirmation. Until  recently,  critics  have  been  greatly  perplexed 

with  the  question — Who  was  the  Belshazzar  of  Daniel  ?  The  canon 
of  Ptolemy  fails  to  give  his  name  among  the  kings  in  the  line  be- 
tween Nebuchadnezzar'  and  the  subversion  of  the  empire  by  Cyrus. 
Of  the  three  who  fill  this  chasm  in  the  canon  of  Ptolemy — usually 
known  by  the  names  of  Evil-Merodach,  Nergal-sharezer,  and  Na- 
bonned,  alias  Labynetus,  each  one  in  his  turn  has  been  supposed 
to  be  the  Belshazzar  of  Daniel.  But  no  satisfactory  explanation- 
could  be  given  of  the  diversity  in  name.  Besides,  Berosus  had  said 
that  the  last  king  of  Babylon,  instead  of  being  slain  in  the  capture 
of  the  city,  had  previously  retired  to  Borsippa,  was  besieged  there, 
surrendered,  was  treated  with  clemency,  and  had  estates  assigned 
him  by  Cyrus  in  Carmania,  where  he   lived  till  his  natural  death. 

These  apparent  discrepancies  between  the  sacred  records  and 

the  profane  were  (as  usual)  put  to  their  utmost  account  by  skepti- 
cal critics.  A  slight  circumstance  has  relieved  all  these  difficulties. 
In  the  year  1854,  Sir  Henry  Rawlinson  deciphered  the  inscriptions 
found  on  some  ancient  cylinders  among  the  ruins  of  Um  Queer, 
(the  ancient  "Ur  of  the  Chaldees")  wdiere  he  found  it  stated  that 
Nabonned  admitted  his  son  Belsharezcr  (Belshazzar)  to  share  the 
government  with  him,  with  the  title  of  king.  This  son,  the  prince 
royal,  was  obviously  left  in  charge  of  the  city  while  his  father  took 
the  field.     The  son  was  slain. 

{d. )  The  subversion  of  the  dynasty  and  kingdom  by  a  Medo-Per- 
sian  army  is  another  boldly  outstanding  point  in  the  history  of  this 
book.  It  is  not  less  prominent  in  proflme  history.  Greek  historians 
have  long  since  wrought  the  leading  facts  of  this  subversion  into  the 
warp  of  universal  history. 

(e.)  I  close  this  series  of  coincidences  with  the  duration  of  the 

captivity  and  the  date  of  the  restoration. Daniel  9:  1,  2,  shows 

that  he.  estimated  the  seventy  j'^ears  of  Jeremiah's  prophecy  (chap. 
25:  11,  12)  to  be  near  their  close  in  the  first  year  of  Darius  the 
Mede.  Of  course  he  would  count  from  the  first  great  deportation 
of  captives  among  whom  he  himself  came,  which  mostly  fell  within 
the  year  before  Nebuchadnezzar  ascended  the  throne.  Then  at 
least  three  ancient  historians  (Berosus,  Polyhistor  and  Ptolemy) 
make  the  reign  of  Nebuchadnezzar  forty-three  years.  His  four 
Chaldean  successors  reigned  respectively  2;  3];  f;  and  17  years. 
Then  counting  one  for  Darius,  we  have  about  sixty-eight — which 
brings  us  near  to  the  determined  number  in  Jeremiah's  prophecy.'^ 

The  thoughtful  reader  will  appreciate  the  importance  of  these 

points  of  historic  criticism,  and  hence  will  not  account  this  invcs- 

*  For  inost  of  these  points  of  more  recent  investigation,  I  am  indebted 
to  tlio  "  3rJ  istorical  Evidences  "  of  Geori^e  llawlinson  ;  to  liis  Herodotus  ; 
and  to  various  articies  in  Smitli's  Bible  Dictionary,  all  which  evince 
learning,  research  and  sound  judgment  on  the  arclieology  of  Assyria 
and  Cbaldea. 


DANIEL.— GENERAL   INTRODUCTION.  287 

tigation  excessively  minute  or  protracted.  For,  evidently,  if  this 
book  is  not  reliably  accurate  as  history,  there  is  a  somewhat  strong 
presumption  in  favor  of  its  being  written  at  a  later  date.  If  it  be 
a  forgery  of  later  date,  written  by  some  unknown  hand  and  after 
the  fulfillment  of  its  apparent  prophecies,  its  religious  value  to  us 
becomes  nothing,  and  painful  doubts  are  thrown  upon  the  reliabil- 
ity of  other  canonical  scriptures. But  if  this  book  is  historically 

true,  then  it  was  no  doubt  written  by  the  Daniel  of  the  captivity. 
If  written  by  him,  it  contains  most  wonderful  prophecy  and  becomes 
its  own  witness  to  its  divine  inspiration.  Thus  the  general  truth 
of  its  history  confirms  its  genuineness  and  authenticity,  rescues  it 
from  the  ruthless  hands  of  mistaken  critics,  and  gives  it  jjack  to  the 
church  and  to  mankind,  its  proofs  brightened  and  its  reliability 

confirmed  by  the  ordeal  of  this  fiery  furnace  of  hypercriticism. 

When  this  book  of  Daniel  becomes  fully  and  justly  known,  it  will 
appear  that  in  respect  to  both  its  history  and  its  prophecy  it  intei*- 
lac^es  itself  so  perfectly,  not  only  with  the  scriptures  of  the  Old 
Testament  and  the  New,  but  with  all  contemporary  and  subsequent 
history  at  least  down  to  the  Christian  era,  that  no  violence  can 
wrench  it  away.  Its  position  is  such  among  the  pillars  of  the  great 
temple  of  truth  that  none*  can  pluck  it  down  without  laying  the 
temple  itself  in  ruins.  If  there  be  any  reliable  history  of  the  ages, 
then  is  this  book  reliable.  Its  prophecies  have  mostly  become  his- 
tory :  itself  came  forth  from  the  Spirit  of  God. 1  must  advance 

now  to  other  points  appropriate  to  an  introduction. 

IV.  Let  us  note  with  care  the  peculiar  position  of  Daniel  as  a 
prophet  of  the  Lord  with  reference  both  to  the  covenant  people  and 
to  the  heathen  kings  and  courts  with  whom  he  lived. 

(1.)  The  providence  of  God  raised  him  to  a  station  of  great  re- 
sponsibility and  influence.  The  jealousy  manifested  toward  him  in 
the  Medo-Persian  court  testifies  to  his  high  standing  and  influence. 
— — (2.)  He  used  his  influence  most  wisely  and  devotedly  for  God 
and  righteousness.  Of  this  the  record  gives  us  several  noble  ex- 
amples.  (3.)  As  he  testified  for  God  fearlessly,  even  at  the  risk 

of  the  greatest  personal  peril,  so  God  testified  for  him  in  forms  of 
surpassing  grandeur  and  in  a  way  that  illustrates  God's  loving  care 
of  his  people,  and  that  must  have  made  strong  impressions  upon  the 

heathen  minds  about  him. (4.)  He  was  therefore  in  a  situation 

to  act  as  the  Patron  and  Guardian  of  his  people".  A  measure  of 
the  esteem  accorded  to  him  would  naturally  pass  over  to  his  coun- 
trymen, arid  serve  to  ameliorate  their  condition  as  captives.  It  can 
scarcely  be  questioned  that  he  obtained  for  them  some  favors  from 
Nebuchadnezzar.  Tradition  affirms  that  shortly  after  the  accession 
of  Cyrus  to  the  throne,  Daniel  obtained  from  him  the  decree  for  the 
restoration  of  his  people,  and  that  for  this  purpose  he  brought  to 
his  notice  the  prophecies  of  Isaiah  (chap.  44 :  23-28,  and  45 :  1-4) 
in  which  Cyrus  is  mentioned  by  name.  The  decree  itself  which 
comes  down  to  us  in  Ezra  1 :  1-4,  and  2  Chron.  36 :  22,  23,  is  such 
as  at  least  to  favor  the  credibility  of  this  tradition.— — (5.)  It  is 
pleasant  to  note  that  his  influence  was  great,  not  only  in  the  courts 


288  DANIEL.— GENERAL  INTRODUCTION. 

of  Nebuchadnezzar  and  Cyrus,  but  in  the  court  of  Heaven.  His 
prayers  to  God  for  mercy  to  his  people  and  for  their  restoration  to 
their  own  land,  as  they  stand  recorded  in  chap.  9,  are  among  the 

most   signal    examples  on  record  of  prevailing   intercession. 

(6.)  His  religious  influence  with  his  people,  the  Jews,  must  have 
been  very  great,  especially  in  the  line  of  withstanding  firmly  all 
temptations  to  idolatry  and  heathen  supei-stitions,  and  also  of  wait- 
ing on  God  in  assured  hope  for  the  day  of  national  deliverance. 
Nor  was  his  influence  small  toward  the  requisite  antecedent  repent- 
ance,   confession,   humiliation    and    prayer. (7.)   These    points 

bring  us  to  one  conclusion  of  prime  importance  in  the  interpreta- 
tion of  Daniel's  prophecies,  viz.,  that  they  may  safely  he  presumed  to 
bear  very  directly  upon  the  religious  coyidiiion  of  his  coimtryyjicn  in  the 
age  then  present  and  in  the  nearer  future.  In  behalf  of  these  genera- 
tions Daniel  felt  most  intensely ;  for  these  he  lived,  prayed,  planned 
and  labored ;  upon  these  generations  therefore  his  prophecies  must 
be  presumed  especially  to  bear. This  is  the  common  law  of  pro- 
phetic life  and  labor.  The  prophets  devoted  their  lives,  delivering 
their  messages  orally,  or  in  writing  as  the  Lord  might  lead  them,  but 
always  with  reference  more  or  less  to  the  moral  and  religious  wel- 
fare of  the  generation  then  living.  Theliigher  their  responsibilities 
for  their  own  people,  the  more  direct  and  exclusive,  other  things 
being  equal,  would  be  the  reference  of  their  messages  io  the  case 
of  those  people.  Daniel  bore  preeminent  responsibilities  for  the 
Jewish  nation :  they  lay  heavily  both  on  his  hands  and  on  his  heart ; 
and  hence  with  the  greater  force  is  it  inferred  that  his  prophecies 

will  respect  the  present  and  the  nearer  future  of  the  Jews. And 

here  it  should  be  distinctly  noted  as  greatly  confirming  this  opinion, 
that  Daniel  accounts  the  Jews  to  be  his  oion  people;  that  God  re- 
peatedly recognizes  them  as  such;  and  in  the  last  prophecy  (chap- 
ters 10-12)  he  explicitly  declares,  "I  am  come  to  make  thee 
understand  what  shall  befall  thy  people  in  the  latter  days"  (chap. 
10:  14).  That  they  are  Daniel's  own  people,  may  be  seen  also  in 
his  prayer  for  them  (chap.  9:  20):  "I  was  confessing  the  sin  of 
•my  people  Israel;"  and  in  the  answer  of  the  Lord;  "Seventy  weeks 
are  determined  upon  thy  people :"  and  in  chap.  12:  1;  "for  the 
children  of  thy  people ;''  "at  that  time  thy  people  shall  be  delivered," 

etc. Thus  manifest  is  it,  both  from  the  tenor  of  the  book  and 

from  the  known  position  of  Daniel,  that  he  was  the  father  and 
patron  of  the  captive  Jews  during  their  captivity,  ministering  to 
their  f\iith  in  God,  and  sustaining  their  hope  and  spirit,  despite  of 
tlieir  subjection  to  a  foreign  yoke.  It  was  no  small  part  of  his 
mission  to  assure  them  that  the  Lord  could  easily  break  this  yoke; 
that  the  scepters  and  thrones  of  all  earthly  kings  were  in  his  hand ; 
and  that  he  had  f  idly  purposed  to  control  the  course  of  empire^  casting 
down  one,  and  setting  up  another  in  its  stead,  and  making  all  these 
revolutions  subserve  the  present  good  of  his  people,  and  hasten  the 
coming  reign  of  their  own  Messiah.  This  great  idea  is  central  in 
the  prophecies  of  Daniel  and  gives  the  clew  to  their  interpretation. 
No  greater  violence  was  ever  done  to  the  genius  of  prophecy  than 


DANIEL.— GENERAL  INTRODUCTION.  289 

has  been  inflicted  upon  Daniel  by  the  assumption  that  he  occupied 
himself  with  the  minute  details  of  European  or  Asiatic  history  dur- 
ing; the  eighteenth  and  nineteenth  centuries  of  the  Christian  era ! 

V .  It  is  well  here  to  note  the  points  of  difference  between  Daniel 
and  other  Jewish  prophets  in  regard  to  his  general  course  of  thought 

and  manner  of  presenting  it. (1.)  In  his  prophetic  portionshe 

makes  but  few  allusions  to  Jerusalem ;  none  to  the  great  national 
sin  of  the  Jews,  idolatry.  He  never  employs  that  peculiar  Jewish 
costume  under  which  Isaiah,  Zechariah,  and  others  represent  all 
the  Gentile  nations  as  coming  up  to  Jerusalem  to  build  in  her  tem- 
ple, etc.  This  is  as  we  should  naturally  expect  in  one  who  flour- 
ished during  the  captivity,  who  lived  remote  from  Judea,  and  came 
but  very  little  in  contact  with  the  elements  out  of  which  those  Jew- 
ish conceptions  were  formed.  His  education  and  training  were 
never  thoroughly  Jewish. (2.)  On  the  other  hand,  he  deals  al- 
most exclusively  with  the  rise  and  fixll  of  the  great  kingdoms  of  the 
earth  within  a  given  period.  The  grand  succession  of  supreme 
dominion  from  hand  to  hand,  and  the  bearing  of  these  changes 
upon  the  planting,  growth,  and  triumph  of  Messiah's  kingdom,  are 

his  great  themes. It  is   easy  to  see  that  this  grows  out  of  his 

surroundin;gs.  These  were  precisely  the  things  with  which  his 
whole  public  life  was  most  familiar.  No  other  Jewish  prophet  is 
like  him  in  this  respect.  The  course  of  divine  providence  schooled 
him  in  courts  and  cabinets,  and  kept  before  his  mind  the  rise  and 
fall  of  dynasties.     Both  his  education  and  his  long  and  active  life 

were  full  of  this  theme. This  correspondence  between  the  cast 

of  his  life  and  the  cast  of  his  prophetic  themes,  symbols,  and  phrase- 
ology, constitutes  a  strong  point  of  internal  evidence  of  genuineness. 
The  man  who  should  do  what  modern  German  skeptics  claim  for 
the  pseudo-Daniel  in  the  Maccabean  age  must  have  been  specially 
inspired,  to  have  thought  of  this  and  then  to  have  carried  it  out  so 

perfectly! (3.)  In  this  line  of  thought,  let  it  be  noted  that  the 

New  Testament  phrases,  "kingdom  of  God,"  and  "kingdom  of 
heaven,"  are  specially  taken  from  Daniel.  In  his  first  prophetic 
vision,  the  series  of  world-wide  kingdoms  closes  thus:  "In  the  days 
of  these  kings  shall  the  God  of  heaven  set  up  a  kingdom  which 
shall  never  be  destroyed"  (chap.  2:  44).  Being  set  up  by  the  God 
of  heaven,  it  is  called  interchangeably,  "The  kingdom  of  God,"  and 
"  The  kingdom  of  heaven."  The  second  vision  (chap.  7:  13,  14, 
27)  gives  the  inauguration  of  its  king,  and  also  the  extent  and  du- 
ration of  his  reign.  This,  for  Daniel,  is  a  perfectly  natural  con- 
ception of  the  cause  and  interest,  of  the  work  and  sway  of  the  j\Ies- 
siah  upon  this  earth.  He,  more  exclusively  than  any  other  Jewish 
prophet,  would  think  of  the  Messiah  as  a  king,  and  more  still,  as 
supplanting  and  succeeding  those  universal  world-monarchs  with 

whom  he  was  so  intimately  conversant. David,  being  himself  a 

king,  sees  in  the  Messiah  his  successor  in  royalty  and  dominion, 
and  even  grasps  the  idea  of  his  supreme  dominion :  "  I  have  set  my 
king  upon  my  holy  hill  of  Zion."  "  I  will  give  thee  the  heathen  for 
thine  inheritance,  and  the  uttermost  parts  of  tlie  earth  for  thy  pos- 

13 


290  DANIEL.— GENERAL  INTRODUCTION. 

session."     Ps.  2 :  6,  8. But  the  Messiah's  succession  in  the  series 

of  universal  empires  stands  out  much  more  distinctly  in  Daniel  than 

in  David. The  same  idea  of  Christ  as  king  may  be  found  in  yet 

other  prophets,  but  less  prominently  and  by  no  means  so  exclu- 
sively. Ilemarkably  the  prophetic  spirit  foils  in  with  the  cast  of 
each  prophet's  mind,  and  uses  those  illustrations  Avith  which  each 
was  most  familiar.  To  Ezekicl,  a  priest,  though  like  Daniel  a  cap- 
tive in  Chaldea,  the  future  of  the  Messiah's  work  on  earth  is  pre- 
sented in  a  costume  that  is  intensely  Mosaic  and  Levitical.  The 
land  of  Judea  is  repeopled ;  the  temple  rebuilt  and  refurnished ;  all 
and  more  than  all  its  old  rituals  are  reestablished.  The  whole  pre- 
sentation is  -^vondcrfuUy  full,  minute,  and  graphic,  culminating  in 
this  one  thought;  "The  name  of  the  city  from  that  day  shall  be, 
"  The  Lord  is  there  ! "  We  should  look  in  vain  to  find  such  a  pas- 
sage as  Ezek.  (chaps.  40-48)  in  any  prophet  not  himself  a  priest. 
So,  to  the  mind  of  Amos,  called  out  from  the  herdmen  of  Tekoa 
and  at  home  among  plowmen,  reapers,  and  vineyards,  the  glories 
of  the  Messianic  age  stand  out  in  yet  other  symbols.  "  The  plow- 
man shall  overtake  the  reaper,  and  the  trij^der  of  grapes  him  that 
soweth  seed;  the  mountains  shall  drop  new  wine,"  etc.  (chap.  9: 
13).  But  Daniel  sees  the  Messiah  succeeding  and  gloriously  eclips- 
ing those  great,  overshadowing  monarchies  in  the  midst  of  which 
his  life-experiences  were  cast.  This  fact  is  one  of  no  trivial  im- 
portance  in  the  interpretation  of  his   prophecies. (4.)  In  the 

point  of  symbolic  vision,  Daniel  resembles  the  other  prophets  of  his 
age — i.  e.,  during  and  after  the  captivity,  especially  Ezekiel  and 
Zechariah ;  but  he  is  very  unlike  all  the  rest.  This  is  traceable  to 
his  Chaldean  education.  During  the  last  half  century,  the  ruins  of 
Nineveh  have  disclosed  the  same  general  modes  of  thought  and 
forms  of  imaginative  pictorial  representation.  Indeed  they  are 
shown  to  belong  specially  to  that  age  and  people.  It  is  safe  to 
assume  that  in  points  of  this  sort  Nineveh  well  represents  the 
Babylon  of  Daniel's  time.  Indeed,  Babylon  was  only  a  new  edi- 
tion of  Nineveh. (5.)  Daniel  is  remarkable  for  the  repetition  of 

his  leading  themes — his  four  great  prophecies  being  manifestly, 
in  the  main,  parallel  in  their  general  scope  and  purpose.  This 
point  will  be  examined  more  fully  in  its  proper  place. 

VI.  The  deep  interest  that  has  been  felt  in  Daniel's  prophecies, 
especially  at  particular  periods ;  the  great  abuse  to  which  they  have 
been  subjected;  the  strange,  wild,  visionary  interpretations  often 
put  upon  them — render  it  proper  for  me  here  to  state  briefly  the 
principles  of  interpretation  that  will  guide  me  in  my  exposition  of 
his  prophecies,  and  especially  of  his  four  great  parallel  visions,  viz., 
chap.  2:  31-45;  chap.  7;  chap.  8,  and  chapters  10-12. 

(1.)  God's  own  interpretation  of  the  symbols  must  be  accepted 
as  of  supreme  authority.  So  far  as  it  applies  directly,  every  candid 
mind  must  and  will  admit  this  principle.  Its  indirect  application 
has  also  important  uses. 

(2.)  The  fact  of  parallelism  in  these  four  visions  above  named 
having  been  substantiated,  an  interpretation  given  on  divine  author- 


DANIEL.— GENERAL  INTRODUCTION.  291 

ity  in  any  one  of  them  must  be  admitted  to  have  great  influence 
over  the  interpretation  of  analogous  points  in  either  of  the  others. 

(3.)  The  same  general  principles  and  methods  of  interpretation 
should  be  carried  through  the  same  vision.  There  should  be  a 
close  analogy  betAveen  the  portions  that  are  explained  by  the  Lord 
himself,  and  other  portions  not  so  explained.  It  may  be  safely  as- 
sumed that  the  same  general  cast  of  thought  and  representation  will 
obtain  through  the  latter  as  through  the  former  portions  of  the  same 
vision.  If  the  former  part  be  explained  and  not  the  latter,  the  Lord 
would  certainly  expect  us  to  learn  from  the  part  explained  how  to 
explain  the  rest. 

(4.)  Important  use  may  be  made  of  the  liynits — the  termini — 
within  which  the  events  predicted  must  fall; — i.  e.,  the  point  of 
time  where  they  begin  and  the  point  where  they  must  close. 
Wherever  these  points  can  be  ascertained  on  substantial  author- 
ity, they  must  have  an  influence  upon  the  interpretation,  always 
great  and  indeed  decisive. 

(5.)  Regard  should  be  had  to  Daniel's  known  circumstances  and 
relations  to  his  people.  From  these  relations  it  may  safely  be  in- 
ferred that  his  prophecies  had  at  the  time,  a  present  moral  bearing 
upon  their  religious  life ;  their  hopes  and  fears,  their  faith  and 
piety.  Apart  from  any  direct  statement  to  this  effect,  it  should  be 
presumed  that  his  prophecies  would  have  special  relation  to  the 
future  history  of  that  people.  How  much  more  must  this  be  as- 
sumed now,  since  we  have  this  explicit  afiirmation  in  respect  to 
the  last  of  the  four  great  parallel  visions — one  which  certainly 
comes  down  as  far  into  the  period  then  future  as  any  one  of  the 
four; — "I  am  come  to  make  thee  understand  what  shall  befall  thy 
people  in  the  latter  days"  (chap.  10:  14).  Moreover,  Daniel's 
personal  relations  to  the  great  monarchies  of  Chaldea  and  Medo- 
Persia  would  naturally  insure  some  predictions  of  the  rise  and 
growth  of  Messiah's  kingdom  as  the  only  real  world-monarchy. 
We  might  expect  him  to  show  his  people  that  their  own  king 
Messiah  would  surely  supplant  and  then  immeasurably  surpass 
in  glory  all  human  kingdoms.  What  could  minister  more  effect- 
ively than  this  to  their  faith  and  courage  ? On  the  other  hand, 

it  must  be  very  unreasonable  to  look  here  for  minute  prophecies 
respecting  the  political  events  of  our  own  times  which  it  could 
scarcely  be  of  the  least  imaginable  consequence  for  the  Jews  of 
that  age  to  understand.  Is  it  probable  that  the  Lord  would  press 
on  Daniel's  attention  the  history  of  the  Papal  power  in  the  nine- 
teenth century  of  the  Christian  era  when  Daniel  might  so  perti- 
nently reply :  "  Lord,  I  have  a  whole  nation  on  my  heart  already. 
My  soul  is  burdened  with  their  case  and  with  their  destinies. 
Why  should  I  turn  my  mind  from  these  things  and  try  to  under- 
stand those  remote  events  which  are  so  foreign  from  my  responsi- 
bilities, from  my  heart,  and  from  the  case  of  my  people?" 

(6.)  Fulfillment,  after  it  has  taken  place,  may  be  legitimately 
used  to  verify  the  interpretation  given,  provided  always  that  it  be 
done  judiciously,  with  good  common  sense.     But  it  has  been  tho 


292  DANIEL.— GENERAL   INTRODUCTION. 

besetting  sin  of  interpreters  of  Daniel  to  make  this  the  chief  and 
almost  the  only  criterion  for  determining  his  meaning.  Conse- 
quently, there  has  been  no  limit  to  the  fancies  and  vagaries  that 
have  been  put  forth  as  commentary  and  interpretation  of  this  book. 
Disregarding  the  great  principles  of  interpretation  above  suggested, 
and  throwing  a  loose  rein  upon  their  imagination,  and  moreover 
straining  the  facts  of  history  often  rudely,  commentators  would 
seem  to  have  exhausted  the  possibilities  of  human  fancy,  not  to 
say  of  absurdity,  in  their  speculations  upon  the  prophecies  of 
Daniel. 

(7.)  It  is  of  the  utmost  consequence  that  interpreters  of  this 
book  should  relieve  their  minds  of  all  prejudice,  in  the  sense  of 
preconceived  opinions,  and  especially  of  that  most  fruitful  source 
of  mischief — the  passion  for  finding  here  the  great  events  of  ones 
own  time.  During  the  last  hundred  years  there  have  been  numer- 
ous efforts  to  find  European  history  anticipated  in  Daniel — to  trace 
out  in  his  prophecies  the  latest  moves  on  the  chess-board  of  Euro- 
pean politics — the  career  of  Napoleon  the  Great,  or  of  Napoleon 
the  less;  of  the  Turk  or  Pasha;  or  of  the  Emperor  of  all  the  Kussias. 
No  author  was  ever  stretched  or  cut  to  a  Procrustean  bed  with 
more  recklessness  than  this  same  sensible  and  excellent  DanieL 
The  sad  record  of  his  experiences  at  the  hands  of  expositors  of 
prophecy  should  admonish  us  to  approach  his  writings  with  a  docile 
spirit,  to  ask  him  what  he  meant  to  say,  and  not  to  bring  to  him  a 
set  of  ideas,  and  then  torture  him  and  his  words  till  they  can  be 
made  to  indorse  them.  And  finally,  in  view  of  the  solemn  respon- 
sibility of  interpreting  these  immortal  words  of  Daniel  in  harmony 
wuth  the  mind  of  the  inditing  Spirit,  let  us  reverently  bow  at  his 
feet,  and  implore  his,  guiding  hand  to  lead  our  thought  and  to 
shape  our  judgment  evermore  in  all  our  inquiries  after  the  great 
and  blessed  truths  borne  to  us  in  this  book  of  Daniel  the  prophet. 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  I.  293 


CHAPTER  I. 

This  chapter  introduces  Daniel ;  gives  his  early  personal  history 
and  that  of  his  three  youn";  friends.  They  refuse  the  delicacies 
of  the  king's  table,  and  at  their  own  request  are  proved  on  purely 
vegetable  food — successfully  (vs.  8-16).  They  appear  before  the 
Chaldean  king  and  are  approved  (vs.  17-21). 

1.  In  the  third  year  of  the  reis^n  of  Jehoiakim  king  of 
Judah  came  Nebuchadnezzar  king  of  Babylon  unto  Jerusa- 
lem, and  besieged  it. 

This  first  attack  upon  Jerusalem  by  Nebuchadnezzar,  said  here 
to  have  been  in  the  third  year  of  Jehoiakim,  appears  to  be  as- 
signed by  Jeremiah  (chap.  25:  1,  and  46:  2)  to  his  fourth  year. 
For  he  makes  the  fourth  year  of  Jehoiakim  coincide  (at  least  in 

part)  Avith  the  first  year  of  Nebuchadnezzar. In  the  introduction 

(p.  283)  it  vp^as  shown  on  the  authority  of  Berosus  that  Nebuchad- 
nezzar smote  Pharaoh  Necho  and  his  army  of  Egyptians  and  allies 
at  Carchemish,  and  wrested  from  their  hand  Jerusalem  and  the 
sovereignty  of  Judah  immediately  before  he  ascended  the  throne. 
Probably  the  latter  part  of  this  series  of  events  occurred  in  the 
fourth  year  of  Jehoiakim  and  the  former  part  in  his  third.  The 
Jewish  captives  might  have  left  Jerusalem  before  the  close  of  Je- 
hoiakim's  third  year,  and  have  arrived  in  Babylon  in  the  early  part 
of  his  fourth.  Often  such  small  discrepancies  may  be  explained  by 
reference  to  the  Jewish  usage  of  counting  a  fraction  of  a  year  in 
the  number  of  years.  Moreover  Daniel  may  have  followed  Chal- 
dean usage  as  to  the  time  of  beginning  his  year,  while  Jeremiah 

followed  the  Jewish. ^A  discrepancy  of  this  sort  would  scarcely 

call  for  explanation  were  it  not  that  captious  critics  have  sought 
by  means  of  it  to  impeach  the  historical  accuracy  of  Daniel. 

2.  And  the  Lord  gave  Jehoiakim  king  of  Judah  into 
his  hand,  with  part  of  the  vessels  of  the  house  of  God, 
which  he  carried  into  the  land  of  Shinar  to  the  house  of 
his  god ;  and  he  brought  the  vessels  into  the  treasure-house 
of  his  god. 

Daniel  is  careful  to  say  (with  historical  accuracy)  that  at  this 
time  the  king  of  Babylon  took  away  only  a  part  of  the  vessels  of 
the  temple.  Many  more  were  taken  during  the  short  reign  of 
Jeconiah  (see  2  Kings  24:  13)  and  yet  some  were  left  behind  then, 
to  be  taken  at  the  final  destruction  of  the  city  in  the  reign  of  Zed- 
ekiah.     Of  the  latter,  special  mention  is  made  by  Jeremiah  (chap. 

27 :  19-22). This  matter  of  the  sacred  vessels  of  the  temple  was 

to  the  Jews  of  the  utmost  moment. This  heathen  king  carried 

these  sacred  vessels  into  the  house  of  his  god  as  trophies  of  victory 
gained  by  the  favor  of  his  idol  over  the  Cod  of  Israel.  It  was 
common  for  heathen  kings  to  honor  their  own  gods  in  this  way. 


291  DANIEL.— CHAP.  1. 

3.  And  tlic  king  spake  unto  Ashpenaz  the  master  of  his 
cunuclis,  that  he  should  bring  certain  of  the  children  of  Is- 
rael, and  of  the  king's  seed,  and  of  the  princes ; 

4.  Children  in  ^vhom  ^uas  no  blemish,  but  well  favored, 
and  skillful  in  all  wisdom,  and  cunning  in  knowledge,  and 
understanding  science,  and  such  as  had  ability  in  them  to 
stand  in  the  king's  palace,  and  whom  they  might  teach  the 
learning  and  the  tongue  of  the  Chaldeans. 

In  respect  to  this  custom  of  training  executive  officers  for  the 
king's  service,  see  the  Introduction  to  Daniel.  They  were  taught 
the  literature  as  well  as  the  language  of  the  Chaldeans.  The  origi- 
nal word  rendered  "learning"  means  "book." 

5.  And  the  king  appointed  them  a  daily  provision  of  the 
king's  meat,  and  of  the  wine  which  he  drank:  so  nourish- 
ing them  three  years,  that  at  the  end  thereof  they  might 
stand  before  the  king. 

The  king  assigned  them  a  daily  allowance  from  his  own  table. 
The  word  rendered  "  king's-meat,"  implies,  his  delicacies,  his  choice 
and  rich  diet. 

6.  Now,  among  these  were  of  the  children  of  Judah,  Dan- 
iel, Hananiah,  Mishael,  and  Azariah; 

7.  Unto  whom  the  prince  of  the  eunuchs  gave  names: 
for  he  gave  unto  Daniel  the  name  of  Belteshazzar ;  and  to 
Hananiah,  of  Shadrach;  and  to  Mishael,  of  Meshach;  and 
to  Azariah,  of  Abed-nego. 

Of  these  four  Jewish  names  it  may  be  noted  that  they  are  all 
compounded  with  the  names  of  the  true  God;  El  being  wrought 
into  Daniel,  (meaning  judge  for  God)  and  into  INIishael  (who  is  what 
(Jod  is?),  while  the  last  syllable  of  Jehovah  appears  in  Ilananiah 
(whom  Jehovah  has  graciously  given)  and  Azariah  (one  helped  of 
God).  The  new  names  expunge  all  recognition  of  the  true  God, 
and  honor  the  Chaldean  gods  instead;  Daniel  having  Bel  wi'ought 
into  his,  Belteshazzar,  which  means  a  j^rince  of  Bel.  This  change 
of  name  must  have  been  to  them  a  sore  trial. 

8.  But  Daniel  purposed  in  his  heart  that  he  would  not 
defile  himself  with  the  portion  of  the  king's  meat,  nor  with 
the  wine  which  he  drank:  therefore  he  requested  of  the 
prince  of  the  eunuchs  that  he  might  not  defile  himself. 

Plainly  one  of  Daniel's  objects  was  to  avoid  ceremonial  defile- 
ment, as  determined  by  the  Mosaic  law.  At  the  same  time  it  ap- 
pears from  what  follows  that  on  physiological  grounds  he  was  sure 
of  better  health  on  a  simple,  plain  diet.     The  case  evinces  both  bis 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  I.  295 

conscientiousness  in  reference  to  the  law  of  his  God,  and  his  noble 
self-control  in  the  matter  of  appetite.  He  held  his  appetite  in  lirm 
subjection  to  the  dictates  of  enlightened  judgment  and  experience 
as  to  what  was  best  for  his  health  and  physical  vigor.  These  are 
among  the  first  and  most  vital  elements  in  the  formation  of  a  char- 
acter of  the  highest  promise  for  efficiency  and  usefulness. 

9.  Now  God  had  brought  Daniel  into  favor  and  tender 
love  with  the  prince  of  the  eunuchs. 

10.  And  the  prince  of  the  eunuchs  said  unto  Daniel,  I 
fear  my  lord  the  king,  w^ho  hath  appointed  your  meat  and 
your  drink:  for  why  should  he  see  your  faces  worse  liking 
than  the  children  which  are  of  your  sort?  then  shall  ye 
make  7ne  endanger  my  head  to  the  king. 

"Why  should  he  see  your  faces  worse  liking?"  etc.,  means  prac- 
tically, ^^  wo7-se  looking."  The  original  means  "more  depressed,"  as 
by  sadness  or  low  spirits.  "Than  the  children  of  your  sort"  means, 
those  of  your  circle;  of  your  age  and  circumstances.  This  prince 
assumed  that  high  living  is  quite  essential  to  fair  flesh  and  fine 
health — a  capital  though  not  uncommon  mistake. 

11.  Then  said  Daniel  to  Melzar,  whom  the  prince  of  the 
eunuchs  had  set  over  Daniel,  Hananiah,  Mishael,  and 
Azariah, 

12.  Prove  thy  servants,  I  beseech  thee,  ten  days ;  and 
let  them  give  us  pulse  to  eat,  and  water  to  drink. 

13.  Then  let  our  countenances  be  looked  upon  before  thee, 
and  the  countenance  of  the  children  that  eat  of  the  portion 
of  the  king's  meat :  and  as  thou  seest,  deal  with  thy  servants. 

Melzar,  having  the  article  in  the  original  (the  Melzar)  is  not  a 

proper  name,  but  means  "  the  chief  butler." Daniel  had  a  safe 

proposal  ready.     Let  them  try  us  on  our  vegetable  diet  and  pure 

water,  ten  days. "Pulse"  means  vegetables  in  general,  plants 

grown  Trom  seed-sowing. 

14.  So  he  consented  to  them  in  this  matter,  and  proved 
them  ten  days. 

15.  And  at  the  end  of  ten  days  their  countenances  ap- 
peared fairer  and  fatter  in  flesh  than  all  the  children  which 
did  eat  the  portion  of  the  king's  meat. 

16.  Thus  Melzar  took  away  the  portion  of  their  meat,  and 
the  wine  that  they  should  drink ;  and  gave  them  pulse. 

The  experiment  being  triumphantly  successful,  Daniel  and  his 
friends  are  relieved  of  both  the  ceremonial  defilement  and  the 
physical  mischiefs  incidental  to  the  king's  diet. 

17.  As  for  these  four  children,  God  gave  them  knowdedge 


296  DANIEL.— CHAP.  II. 

and  skill  in  all  learning  and  wisdom :  and  Daniel  had  un- 
derstanding in  all  visions  and  dreams. 

While  wisdom  and  learning  were  common  to  all  the  four,  Daniel 
had  special  "understanding;  in  all  visions  and  dreams."  The  divine 
purpose  in  this  gift  to  Daniel  was  to  qualify  him  for  transcendent 
influence  in  that  heathen  court  and  country,  and  to  make  him  a 
prophet  of  high  order  among  his  own  people. 

18.  Now  at  the  end  of  the  days  that  the  king  had  said 
he  should  bring  them  in,  then  the  prince  of  the  eunuchs 
brought  them  in  before  Nebuchadnezzar. 

19.  And  the  king  communed  with  them:  and  among  them 
all  was  found  none  like  Daniel,  Hananiah,  Mishael,  and 
Azariah :  therefore  stood  they  before  the  king. 

20.  And  in  all  matters  of  wisdom  a7id  understanding,  that 
the  king  inquired  of  them,  he  found  them  ten  times  better 
than  all  the  magicians  and  astrologers  that  were  in  all  his 
realm. 

"The  end  of  days"  is  the  expiration  of  the  three  years  fixed  by 

the  king  and  referred  to  v.  5. The  king  "communed  with  them" 

for  the  purpose  of  sounding  their  depth  and  testing  their  adaptation 
to  his  wants.  He  became  abundantly  satisfied.  Hence  they  took 
their  position;  they  "stood  before  the  king,"  awaiting  orders  and 
ready  for  his  service.  This  is  tlie  usual  phrase  for  servants  in  at- 
tendance upon  their  superiors.     8o  angels  are  said  to  "  stand  before 

God." "Ten  times  better,"  is  a  definite  phrase  in  the  sense  of 

an  indefinite. 

21.  And  Daniel  continued  even  unto  the  first  year  of  king 
Cyrus. 

It  is  not  said  that  Daniel  continued  no  longer,  but  only  that  he 
continued  to  tliat  time.  Probably  this  closed  his  official  life.  This 
book  gives  no  notice  of  the  time  or  the  circumstances  of  lii»  deatli. 


CHAPTER  II. 


Nebuchadnezzar  is  greatly  troubled  by  a  dream  which  he  can 
not  recall:  his  Chaldean  ]\lagi  can  not  help  him  to  it;  but  Daniel 
reveals  to  the  king  his  dream  and  its  interpretation.  Thereupon 
the  king  acknowledges  the  great  superiority  of  the  God  of  Daniel, 
and  promotes  him  and  his  three  friends  to  high  positions  of  trust 

in  the  state. This  dream  or  vision  is  the  first  in  a  series  of  four 

to  which  very  special  attention  must  be  given  in  the  proper  place. 

1.  And  in  the  second  year  of  the  reign  of  Nebuchadnez- 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  II.  297 

zar,  Nebuchadnezzar  dreamed  dreams,  wherewith  his  spirit 
was  troubled,  and  his  sleep  brake  from  him. 

Dreams  are  usually  the  mere  fancies  of  the  mind  durinn;  sleep, 
and  of  no  account  as  indicating  future  events.  But  the  (iod  who 
made  us  is  able  to  reach  our  minds  no  less  while  we  sleep  than 
while  we  are  awake ;  and  hence  can  determine  our  dreams  as  truly 
and  perfectly  as  the  succession  and  character  of  our  waking 
thoughts.  Hence  he  was  wont  in  ancient  times  to  manifest  him- 
self to  men  in  their  dreams — as  here  in  the  case  of  this  Chaldean 

king. This  dream  troubled  him  and  made  sleep  impossible.     It 

left  his  mind  painfully  anxious  as  if  it  foreboded  some  great 
calamity;  while- yet  he  could  not  recall  the  particular  points  of  the 
dream.     Much  less  could  he  reach  its  prophetic  significance. 

2.  Then  the  king  commanded  to  call  the  magicians,  and 
the  astrologers,  and  the  sorcerers,  and  the  Chaldeans,  for  to 
shew  the  king  his  dreams.  So  they  came  and  stood  before 
the  king. 

In  this  emergency,  the  king  called  in  the  aid  of  those  classes  of 
men  who  professed  skill  in  the  occult  sciences  and  in  auguries  of 
future  events.  Most  if  not  all  of  the  unevangelized  nations  of  all.  his- 
tory have  had  such  men,  often  known  as  a  special  class,  under  some 

distinctive  name. Here  are  four  different  terms  of  designation. 

The  word  rendered  "magicians"  means  sacred  scribes — priests  of 
religion.  The  original  Hebrew  word  from  which  it  is  derived 
means  a  graving  tool — the  very  instrument  used  in  that  age  for 
writing  on  stone,  and  probably  too  on  bricks  while  in  their  plastic 
state.  Babylonian  documents  are  found  in  immense  numbers  writ- 
ten on  both  these  sorts  of  material. The  next  term  rendered 

"astrologers,"  is  several  times  translated  "magoi,"  (magi)  in  the 
Septuagint.  The  magoi  are  the  "wise  men"  who  came  from  the 
east  (Mat.  2:   1)  to   inquire  for  the  new-born  Messiah  whose  star 

they  had  seen,  and  therefore  came  to  worship  him. The  second 

and  the  third  terms  imply  in  the  original  Hebrew,  the  use  of  occult 
arts,  secret  practices,  by  which  their  authors  pretended  to  have 
communication  with  invisible  powers  or  agencies,  and  to  learn  from 

them  what   no   unaided  human  mind  could  attain. The  term 

Chaldean  as  used  in  this  connection  can  not  denote  the  whole  peo- 
ple of  the  country,  Chaldea,  but  a  learned  class,  who  retained  the 
language  and  the  wisdom  of  the  ancient  Kaldi  people.  The  latter 
were  of  the  Cushite  family,  allied  to  the  Ethiopians.  While  the 
great  body  of  the  people  inhabiting  Chaldea  used  a  Semitic  lan- 
guage, closely  related  to  the  Hebrew,  and  known  variously  as 
Byriac,  Aramaic,  Chaldee ;  this  learned  class  retained  for  their 
religious  and  probably  scientific  purposes  another  language  which 
testifies  to  their  connection  with  the  ancient  Cushite  or  Ethiopian 
family.  Tliey  are  sometimes  spoken  of  also  as  a  Scythio  race.  The 
authority  for  these  views  of  their  ethnic  relations  is  found  in  the 


298  DANIEL.— CHAP.  11. 

language  used  in  ancient  inscriptions. ^Thesc  brief  explanations 

may  suffice  to  show  in  general  that  these  classes  combined  with 
much  real  learning  and  science,  more  or  less  claim  to  communion 
with  superhuman  beings  or  agencies  by  which  they  sought  to  in- 
terpret dreams  and  to  foretell  future  events. They  came  at  the 

king's  call  and  stood  before  him. 

3.  And  the  king  said  unto  them,  I  have  dreamed  a 
dream,  and  my  spirit  was  troubled  to  know  the  dream. 

The  king  is  specially  anxious  to  know,  not  the  dream  only,  but 
its  interpretation — its  true  significance. 

4.  Then  spake  the  Chaldeans  to  the  king  in  Syriac,  O 
king,  live  forever :  tell  thy  servants  the  dream,  and  we  will 
shew  the  inter j)retation. 

The  Chaldeans  spoke  to  the  king  "in  Syriac" — the  usual  lan- 
guage of  the  country.  From  this  point  to  the  end  of  chap.  7,  the 
author  of  this  book  wrote  in  this  dialect,  here  called  "  Syriac ;"  but 
in  the  original,  "Aramaic;"  and  more  generally  known  as  the 
Chaldee  language.  It  differs  altogether  in  the  forms  of  its  letters 
and  somewhat  in  its  grammatical  forms  and  words,  from  the  Syriac 

of  the  earlier  ages  of  the  Christian  era. Daniefs  reasons  for 

this  use  of  the  Chaldee  tongue  are  obvious.  The  subject-matter 
of  these  chapters  was  of  the  utmost  interest  and  moment  to  the 
Chaldean  people.  It  related  to  their  own  monarchs  and  to  great 
events  of  their  own  national  history.  It  bore  repeated  testimonies 
to  the  supreme  power,  wisdom  and  glory,  of  the  Great  God — testi- 
monies that  came  from  their  own  monarchs.  Wisely  therefore  did 
Daniel  afford  them  the  requisite  facilities  for  reading  these  testi- 
monies in  their  own  tongue.  This  dialect  would  be  readily  under- 
stood by  the  captive  Jews. 

5.  The  king  answered  and  said  to  the  Chaldeans,  The 
thing  is  gone  from  me:  if  ye  ^\i\\  not  make  known  unto 
me  the  dream,  with  the  interpretation  thereof,  ye  shall  be 
cut  in  pieces,  and  your  houses  shall  be  made  a  dunghill : 

G.  But  if  ye  shew  the  dream,  and  the  interpretation 
thereof,  ye  shall  receive  of  me  gifts  and  rewards  and  great 
honor  :  therefore  shew  me  the  dream,  and  the  interpretation 
thereof. 

The  Chaldean  wise  men  steadily  demand  that  the  king  shall  tell 
his  dream.  The  king  has  lost  it,  and  hence  demands  no  less  per- 
sistently that  they  shall  give  him  botli  his  dream  and  its  interpreta- 
tion. Feeling  intensely  anxious  to  know  it,  ho  resorts  to  the  utmost 
terr(/r  of  his  supreme  power  of  life  and  death  over  his  subjects,  and 
threatens  them  the  most  terrible  and  disgraceful  death  if  they  fail, 
backing  up  this  penalty  by  the  promise  of  immense  rewards  if  they 
are  successful,     it  is  plain  that  God  is  shaping  this  matter  to  test 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  11.  299 

the  intrinsic  futility  of  their  pretensions  to  superhuman  knowledge, 
and  to  bring  out  in  the  most  public  manner  his  own  infinite  superi- 
ority over  them  all. 

7.  They  answered  again  and  said,  Let  the  king  tell  his 
servants  the  dream,  and  we  will  shew  the  interpretation 
of  it.  ^ 

8.  The  king  answered  and  said,  I  know  of  certainty  that 
ye  would  gain  the  time,  because  ye  see  the  thing  is  gone 
from  me. 

9.  But  if  ye  will  not  make  known  unto  me  the  dream, 
there  is  but  one  decree  for  you :  for  ye  have  prepared  lying 
and  corrupt  words  to  speak  before  me,  till  the  time  be 
changed:  therefore  tell  me  the  dream,  and  I  shall  know 
that  ye  can  shew  me  the  interpretation  thereof 

To  their  renewed  request  for  the  dream,  the  king,  yet  more  ex- 
cited, replies,  charging  them  w^ith  seeking  to  stave  off  this  profes- 
sional duty  of  theirs  (as  he  deems  it)  by  delay.  The  king  seems 
to  assume  that  in  their  view,  lapse  of  time  will  divert  his  attention, 
or  lessen  his  interest  in  the  matter,  so  that  he  would  at  least  relax 
the  severity  of  his  decree,  if  not,  indeed,  forget,  or  reverse  it. 
Hence  he  meets  this  point  with  characteristic  rigor  and  sternness. 
The  whole  bearing  of  the  king  in  this  case  shows  what  an  earnest, 
self-reliant  man  becomes  under  the  reacting  influence  of  absolute 
power  over  the  destiny  and  life  of  his  fellow-beings. 

10.  The  Chaldeans  answered  before  the  king,  and  said. 
There  is  not  a  man  upon  the  earth  that  can  shew  the  king's 
matter  :  therefore  there  is  no  king,  lord,  nor  ruler  that  asked 
such  things  at  any  magician,  or  astrologer,  or  Chaldean. 

11.  And  it  is  a  rare  thing  that  the  king  requireth,  and 
there  is  none  other  that  can  shew  it  before  the  king,  except 
the  gods,  whose  dwelling  is  not  with  flesh. 

Forced  upon  impossibilities  as  the  sole  condition  of  life,  the  Chal- 
deans are  emboldened  to  speak  out  plainly  even  before  this  absolute 
and  terribly  stern  monarch.  They  assure  him  that  the  thing  he 
demands  is  beyond  all  human  skill,  and  that  no  reasonable  king 
ever  before  made  such  demands  as  this  upon  men  of  their  profes- 
sion.  The  word  rendered   ''rare"   in  the  phrase,  "it  is  a  rare 

thing,"  means  usually,  "hard,"  "difficult;"  and  here,  manifestly, 
"impossible" — a  thing  entirely  above  the  range  of  mortal  knowl- 
edge; such  a  thing  as  none  can  reveal  but  the  gods  who  dwell  not 
in  human  flesh.  This  admission  was  of  the  utmost  importance  in 
its  bearing  upon  Daniel  and  Daniel's  God.  It  shows  moreover  that 
they  had  a  distinct  conception  of  a  higher  Intelligence — some  Great 
Mind  or  Minds,  possessed  of  knowledge  and  forecast  far  beyond 
that  of  men. 


300  DANIEL.— CHAP.  II. 

12.  For  this  cause  the  king  was  angry  and  very  iurious, 
and  commanded  to  destroy  all  the  wise  7nen  of  Babylon. 

13.  And  the  decree  went  forth  that  the  wise  men  should 
be  slain ;  and  they  sought  Daniel  and  his  fellows  to  be 
slain. 

Here  is  absolutism,  under  inflamed  passion.  The  king  will  bear 
no  implication  that  he  is  unreasonable,  and  will  mot  consent  to  be 
balHed  in  his  cherished  purpose  to  get  back  the  lost  dream  and  find 

its  meaning. Daniel  and  his  three  associates,  ("fellows")  seem 

not  to  have  been  present  among  the  magicians,  astrologers,  etc.,  who 
were  summoned  before  the  king,  and  hence  knew  nothing  of  this 
transaction.  But  now  that  death  is  the  doom  of  all  the  wise  men, 
they  are  less  disposed  to  count  out  Daniel  and  his  three  friends. 
All  this,  whether  well  or  ill  intended  on  their  part,  was  of  the  Lord, 
who  is  wont  to  make  the  wrath  of  man  work  out  his  own  praise. 

14.  Then  Daniel  answered  with  counsel  and  wisdom  to 
Arioch  the  captain  of  the  king's  guard,  which  was  gone 
forth  to  slay  the  wise  men  of  Babylon : 

15.  He  answered  and  said  to  Arioch  the  king's  captain. 
Why  is  the  decree  so  hasty  from  the  king?  Then  Arioch 
made  the  thing  known  to  Daniel. 

Arioch,  captain  of  the  king's  guard,  was  really,  as  the  margin  in- 
timates, "  chief  of  the  executioners" — the  two  sorts  of  service,  viz., 
commanding  the  body-guard  of  the  king  and  serving  as  public  ex- 
ecutioner to  take   the  life  of  persons  condemned  by  the  king  to 

death — ^being  naturally  performed  by  tlie  same  officer. Daniel 

spoke  prudently  to  this  oificer:  and  yet  the  original  word  he  used, 
rendered  "  hasty  "  ("  why  is  the  decree  of  the  king  sojiasty  ?  ")  means 
"stern,"  "severe," — standing  related  to  justice  and  common  human- 
ity, and  not  merely  to  thne. 

16.  Then  Daniel  went  in,  and  desired  of  the  king  that 
he  would  give  him  time,  and  that  he  would  shew  the  king 
the  interpretation. 

It  is  noticeable  that  the  king  does  not  object  to  giving  Daniel 
reasonable  time,  though  he  had  been  so  violent  against  his  magi- 
cians when  he  thought  they  meant  to  evade  his  demands  by  gaining 
time.  He  saw  in  Daniel  the  marks  of  an  honest  man.  Moreover, 
we  need  not  be  slow  to  recognize  a  divine  hand,  giving  Daniel  favor 
before  the  king. 

17.  Then  Daniel  went  to  his  house,  and  made  the  thing 
known  to  Hananiah,  Mishael,  and  Azariah,  his  com- 
panions : 

18.  That  they  would  desire  mercies  of  the  God  of  heaven 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  II.  301 

concerning  this  secret;  that  Daniel  and  his  fellows  should 
not  perish  with  the  rest  of  the  wise  men  of  Babylon. 

It  was  eminently  fitting  that  this  case  should  be  borne  to  God  in 
special  prayer,  and  that  Daniel  should  invite  the  sympathy  and 
help  of  his  three  friends  in  supplication  befo'5:e  God.  The  results 
purposed  of  God  are  to  be  signally  honorable  to  all  these  men. 
First,  then,  let  them  humbly  and  earnestly  seek  God  in  prayer. 
This  is  the  order  of  both  providence  and  grace.  Asking  comes  be- 
fore receiving.  Moreover,  the  results  are  to  be  momentous  upon 
the  political  condition  of  the  captive  Jews  and  upon  their  faith  in 
the  God  of  their  fathers.  How  appropriate  then,  for  every  reason, 
that  this  divine  mercy  needed  by  l)aniel  should  be  earnestly  sought 
in  prayer  by  all  his  pious  friends ! 

19.  Then  was  the  secret  revealed  unto  Daniel  in  a  night 
vision.     Then  Daniel  blessed  the  God  of  heaven. 

20.  Daniel  answered  and  said,  Blessed  be  the  name  of 
God  forever  and  ever:  for  wisdom  and  might  are  his: 

21.  And  he  chaugeth  the  times  and  the  seasons;  he  re- 
moveth  kings,  and  setteth  up  kings;  he  giveth  wisdom  unto 
the  wise,  and  knowledge  to  them  that  know  understanding : 

22.  He  revealeth  the  deep  and  secret  things  :  he  knoweth 
what  is  in  the  darkness,  and  the  light  dwelleth  with  him. 

23.  I  thank  thee,  and  praise  thee,  O  thou  God  of  my 
fathers,  who  hast  given  me  wisdom  and  might,  and  hast 
made  known  unto  me  now  wdiat  we  desired  of  thee :  for 
thou  hast  now  made  known  unto  us  the  king's  matter. 

The  revelation  was  made  to  Daniel  forthwith,  in  the  manner  of  a 
vision  by  night.  He  is  at  once  conscious  that  God  has  given  him 
the  secret  prayed  for  and  so  much  desired,  and  hence  he  breaks 
out  in  grateful  praise  for  this  blessing. The  expressions,  "wis- 
dom and  might  are  his;"  "he  changeth  the  times  and  the  seasons;" 
"he  removeth  kings  and  setteth  up  kings;"  are  evidently  suggested 
by  the  subject-matter  of  the  king's  dream  which  is  now  both  re- 
vealed and  expounded  to  Daniel.  The  central  idea  of  that  dream 
is  (as  we  shall  see),  the  changing  course  of  empire  and  the  divine 
agency  in  casting  down  one  great  world-ruling  dynasty  and  setting 
up  another  in  its  stead.  In  most  sublime  strains,  Daniel  celebrates 
also  the  omniscience  and  foreknowledge  of  Jehovah :  "  He  revealeth 
the  deep  and  secret  things,"  such  as  no  mortal  eye  can  reach;  "He 
knoweth  what  is  in  the  darkness,  and  the  light  dwelleth  with  him." 
Dwelling  himself  in  light  unapproachaljle  and  full  of  glory,  nothing 
present,  past,  or  future,  can  be  dark  to  his  all-searching  eye. 

24.  Therefore  Daniel  went  in  unto  Arioch,  whom  the 
king  had  ordained  to  destroy  the  wise  men  of  Babylon :  he 
went  and  said  thus  unto  him :  Destroy  not  the  wdse  men  of 


302  DANIEL.~CHAP.  II. 

Babylon:  bring  me  in  before  the  king,  and  I  will  shew  unto 
the  king  the  interpretation. 

25.  Then  Arioch  brought  in  Daniel  before  the  king  in 
haste,  and  said  thus  unto  him,  I  have  found  a  man  of  the 
captives  of  Judah,*that  will  make  known  unto  the  king  the 
interpretation. 

No  time  is  to  be  lost.  Daniel  reports  himself  as  ready  now  to 
meet  the  king  and  is  accordingly  brought  into  his  presence. 

26.  The  king  answered  and  said  to  Daniel,  whose  name 
was  Belteshazzar,  Art  thou  able  to  make  known  unto  me 
the  dream  which  I  have  seen,  and  the  interpretation  thereof? 

27.  Daniel  answered  in  the  presence  of  the  king,  and 
said,  The  secret  which  the  king  hath  demanded  can  not  the 
wise  men,  the  astrologers,  the  magicians,  the  sooth-sayers, 
shew  unto  the  king  ; 

28.  But  there  is  a  God  in  heaven  that  revealeth  secrets, 
and  maketh  known  to  the  king  Nebuchadnezzar  what  shall 
be  in  the  latter  days.  Thy  dream,  and  the  visions  of  thy 
head  upon  thy  bed,  are  these  ; 

29.  As  for  thee,  O  king,  thy  thoughts  came  into  thy  mind 
upon  thy  bed,  what  should  come  to  pass  hereafter:  and  he 
that  revealeth  secrets  maketh  known  to  thee  what  shall 
come  to  23ass. 

30.  But  as  for  me,  this  secret  is  not  revealed  to  me  for 
any  wisdom  that  I.  have  more  than  any  living,  but  for  their 
sakes  that  shall  make  known  the  interpretation  to  the  king, 
and  that  thou  mightest  know  the  thoughts  of  thy  heart. 

The  king's  question,  "Art  thou  able?"  etc.,  brings  out  Daniel's 
genuine  humility  and  his  hearty  recognition  of  all  bis  special  power 
in  this  line  as  from  the  Great  God  of  heaven.  He  therefore  re- 
marks first  (v.  27)  that  none  of  the  wise  men  of  Babylon,  and  by 
implication,  no  wise  men  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  can  reveal  this 
secret ;  and  then  that  the  God  of  heaven,  and  he  alone  and  only, 
has  made  this  revelation.  Remarkal)ly,  he  begins  (v.  28)  as  if  he 
would  go  on  at  once  to  recite  the  dream;  but  checks  himself  and 
returns  to  say  again,  as  to  the  king,  that,  through  the  hand  of  God, 
his  thoughts  upon  his  bed  were  of  what  should  take  place  there- 
after; and  as  to  himself,  that  this  secret  was  not  revealed  to  him 
because  of  any  special  wisdom  of  his  above  other  men,  but  for  the 
sake  of  making  the  interpretation  known  to  the  king.  In  this 
latter  clause,  the  marginal  reading  gives  the  sense  more  accurately 
than  the  text.  Jt  should  not  read,  "for  their  sakes  who  should 
make  this  thing  know^n,"  as  if  there  were  certain  other  parties  to 
be  used  in  revealing  this  matter  to  the  king,  and  it  was  revealed 
to  Daniel  for  their  sakes.     This  is  not  the  sense,  but  rather  simply, 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  II.  303 

that  God  revealed   it  to  Daniel  in  order  that  it  might  be  made 

known    to   the   king. Daniel's   humble    disclaimer  of  personal 

merit  may  remind  us  of  the  same  thing  in  Joseph ;  "  Do  not  inter- 
pretations belong  to  God?"  Gen.  40:  8;  also,  "Joseph  answered 
Pharaoh,  saying,  "It  is  not  in  me;  God  shall  give  Pharaoh  an  an- 
swer of  peace"  (Gen.  41:  16).     Also,  of  the  divine  law,   "Them 

that  honor  me,  I  will  honor"   (1  Sam.  2:  30). The  reference 

made  here  and  elsewhere  to  the  time  when  the  events  signified  by 
this  dream  -should  take  place  are  altogether  indefinite.  Thus, 
"what  shall  be  in  the  latter  days"  (v.  28);  "what  shall  come  to 
pass"  (v.  29),  and  "what  shall  come  to  pass  hereafter"  (v.  45), 
give  us  no  certain  clue  to  the  precise  period.  So  far  as  these 
phrases  are  concerned,  the  events  might  come  sooner  or  later; 
might  spread  over  the  centuries  before  the  Christian  era,  or  lie  in 
the  future  beyond  it.  We  look  in  vain  to  these  phrases  to  find 
definite  marks  of  future  time. 

31.  Thou,  O  king,  sawest,  and  behold  a  great  image. 
This  great  image,  whose  brightness  was  excellent,  stood 
before  thee ;  and  the  form  thereof  teas  terrible. 

32.  This  image's  head  ivas  of  fine  gold,  his  breast  and 
his  arms  of  silver,  his  belly  and  his  thighs  of  brass, 

33.  His  legs  of  iron,  his  feet  part  of  iron  and  part  of 
clay. 

34.  Thou  sawest  till  that  a  stone  was  cut  out  without 
hands,  which  smote  the  image  upon  his  feet  that  were  of 
iron  and  clay,  and  brake  them  to  pieces. 

35.  Then  was  the  iron,  the  clay,  the  brass,  the  silver, 
and  the  gold,  broken  to  pieces  together,  and  became  like 
the  chaff  of  the  summer  threshing-floors;  and  the  wind 
carried  them  a^vay,  that  no  place  was  found  for  them : 
and  the  stone  that  smote  the  image  became  a  great  mount- 
ain, and  filled  the  whole  earth. 

•  36.  This  is  the  dream  ;  and  we  will  tell  the  interpretation 
thereof  before  the  king. 

37.  Thou,  O  king,  art  a  king  of  kings :  for  the  God  of 
heaven  hath  given  thee  a  kingdom,  powxr,  and  strength, 
and  glory. 

38.  And  wheresoever  the  children  of  men  dwell,  the 
beasts  of  the  field  and  the  fowls  of  the  heaven  hath  he 
given  into  thy  hand,  and  hath  made  thee  ruler  over  them 
all.     Thou  art  this  head  of  gold. 

39.  And  after  thee  shall  rise  another  kingdom  inferior 
to  thee,  and  another  third  kingdom  of  brass,  which  shall 
bear  rule  over  all  the  earth. 

40.  And  the  fourth  kingdom  shall  be  strong  as  iron :  for- 


304  DANIEL.— CHAP.  II. 

asmuch  as  iron  breakcth  in  pieces  and  subdueth  all  tilings : 
and  as  iron  that  breaketh  all  these,  shall  it  break  in  pieces 
and  bruise. 

41.  And  whereas  thou  sawest  the  feet  and  toes,  part  of 
potters'  clay,  and  part  of  iron,  the  kingdom  shall  be  di- 
vided ;  but  there  shall  be  in  it  of  the  strength  of  the  iron, 
forasmuch  as  thou  sawest  the  iron  mixed  with  the  miry- 
clay. 

42.  And  as  the  toes  of  the  feet  ivere  part  of  iron,  and 
part  of  clay,  so  the  kingdom  shall  be  partly  strong,  and 
partly  broken. 

43.  And  whereas  thou  sawest  iron  mixed  with  miry  clay, 
they  shall  mingle  themselves  Avith  the  seed  of  men :  but 
they  shall  not  cleave  one  to  another,  even  as  iron  is  not 
mixed  with  clay. 

44.  And  in  the  days  of  these  kings  shall  the  God  of 
heaven  set  up  a  kingdom,  which  shall  never  be  destroyed: 
and  the  kingdom  shall  not  be  left  to  other  people,  hut  it 
shall  break  in  pieces  and  consume  all  these  kingdoms,  and 
it  shall  stand  forever. 

45.  Forasmuch  as  thou  sawest  that  the  stone  was  cut 
out  of  the  mountain  without  hands,  and  that  it  brake 
in  pieces  the  iron,  the  brass,  the  clay,  the  silver,  and  the 
gold  ;  the  great  God  hath  made  known  to  the  king  what 
shall  come  to  pass  hereafter :  and  the  dream  is  certain,  and 
the  interpretation  thereof  sure. 

This  passage  is  in  t\YO  parts; — the  dream  (vs.  31-35);  and  its 
interpretation  (vs.  37-45).  The  dream  is  symbolic; — one  con- 
nected,   compact    series    of  symbols; — the    interpretation    renders 

these    symbols    into    literal    language. The   symbols    scarcely 

need  any  comment.  The  language  itself  is  plain.  Here  is  one 
hup;e  image  of  the  human  form,  the  head  of  gold  being  the  first 
part;  the  breast  and  arms  of  silver,  the  second;  the  belly  and 
thighs  of  brass,  the  third ;  the  legs,  feet  and  toes,  part  iron  and 
part  clay,  the  fourth.  Then  a  stone  cut  from  the  mountain  with- 
out hands,  smites  the  image  upon  its  feet,  but  breaks  in  pieces  the 
vphole  image  and  scatters  it  to  the  winds  of  heaven ;  and  then  itself 
becomes  a  great  mountain  and  fills  the  whole  earth.  A  stone  is  a 
proper  symbol  of  an  agency  that  comes  to  l)reak  a  huge  metal  image. 
That  it  is  "cut  from  the  mountain  without  hands"  indicates  that 
the  Messiah  was  born  and  brouglit  fortli  before  the  world  as  King 
of  nations  by  divine  rather  than  human  agencies ;  while  his  smiting 
the  great  image  to  its  destruction  denotes  the  power  of  God  in  his 
providential  government,  overturning  guilty  nations. The  inter- 
pretation shows  that  the  central  idea  of  the  dream  is  the  course  of 
empire;    the   rapid   succession    of  great  world-monarchies.      The 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  II.  305 

reader  should  nofc  fail  to  note  that  while  these  symbols,  standing 
unexplained,  would  he  obscure  and  might  greatly  perplex  all  com- 
mentators, yet  the  interpretation  malies  their  meaning  definite  and 
certain.  For  in  the  first  place  an  inspired  interpretation  is  perfect 
authority.  When  God  himself  interprets,  and  we  get  his  meaning, 
it  is  the  end  of  all  uncertainty,  and  should  be  the  end  of  all  doubt. 
And  as  to  the  proljlem  of  getting  his  meaning,  it  is  safe  to  infer 
that  if  God  professes  to  interpret,  he  intends  to  make  himself  un- 
derstood. Hence  he  will  use  plain  language  and  use  it  according 
.to  the  laws  of  human  speech,  so  that  due  candor,  care  and  dili- 
gence, with  the  divine  blessing,  will  surely  lead  men  into  all  the 

important  truth  that  God  has  sought  to  teach. Guided  especially 

by  this  inspired  interpretation,  let  us  now  search  out  the  truth 

taught  by  this  vision. As  above  suggested,  the  central  idea  is 

the  course  of  empire — the  succession  of  great,  universal  monarchies. 
Of  these  the  first  four  are  of  the  earth,  earthly — mere  human  king- 
doms. The  fifth  is  in  some  respects  peculiar,  being '''set  up  by  the 
God  of  heaven."  The  points  affirmed  here  of  this  fifth  kingdom 
are  that  it  first  destroys  and  then  supersedes  all  the  other  king- 
doms ;  that  it  shall  not  pass  over  into  the  hands  of  other  races  and 
people,  as  those  that  preceded  it  had  done ;  that  it  shall  not  be  tran- 
sient, like  them,  but  enduring;  and  finally  it  shall  be  in  a  higher 

sense  than  they,  universal  in  extent,  filling  all  the  earth. As  to 

the  first  four,  the  interpretation  makes  it  absolutely  certain  that 
the  head  of  gold  representing  the  first  kingdom  is  the  Chaldean 
empire,  specially  embodied  in  its  one  gTeat  monarch — the  author 
mainly  of  its  splendor  and  greatness — Nebuchadnezzar.    "Thou  art 

this  head  of  gold." It  is  scarcely  less  certain  that  the  second — 

the  silver  breast  and  arms — is  the  kingdom  actually  next  in  the 
order  of  time.  "Arising  after  thee  and  inferior  to  thee,"  it  must 
be  the  Medo-Persian,  of  which  Cyrus  was  the  great  central  repre- 
sentative. On  this  point  interpreters  agree.  Equally  clear  is  it 
that  the  third — the  belly  and  thighs  of  brass ;  that  "  shall  bear  rule 
over  all  the  earth;"  is  the  Grecian  empire  whose  one  sole  repre- 
sentative was  Alexander.  His  place  in  the  series  is  so  well  defined 
by  the  description  and  by  the  historic  facts,  as  to  leave  no  room 

for  rational  doubt. The  identity  of  the  fourth  kingdom  is  the 

great  question  of  this  prophecy.  The  two  conflicting  opinions  be- 
tween which  commentators  have  been  divided  for  ages  are;  (1) 
That  it  is  the  Roman  power;  (2)  That  it  is  the  broken,  divided  em- 
pire that  in  fact  next  succeeded  Alexander,  knoAvn  in  history  as 
the  "Empire  of  Alexander's  successors."  The  portions  with  which 
the  Jews  came  specially  in  contact  were  the  Syrian  kingdom, 
founded  by  Seleucus  Nicator,  and  the  Egyptian,  founded  by  Ptol- 
emy Lagus.  In  point  of  time,  these  powers  fill  the  two  or  three 
centuries  that  immediately  followed  the  death  of  Alexander,  B.  C 

323. It  is  impossible  to  do  justice  to  the  prophecies  of  Daniel 

without  a  very  careful  and  thorough  investigation  of  this  radical 
question.  Let  it  be  our  aim  to  advance  cautiously,  witli  candor 
and  patience,  endeavoring  to  embrace  all  the  elements  that  bear 


306  DANIEL.— CHAP.  II. 

upon  this  question  and  giving  to  each  its  due  weight  in  the  final 
decision. 

In  regard  to  this  fifth  kingdom,  specially  described  in  v,  44,  ob- 
serve that  in  the  opinion  of  all  intelligent  commentators,  our  divine 
Lord  and  his  forerunner  John  the  liaptist  take  their  current  and 
oft-used  phrases,  "Kingdom  of  God,"  and  "Kingdom  of  heaven," 
from  this  passage.  Daniel  says,  "  The  God  of  heaven  shall  set  up 
a  kingdom."  Hence  it  might  be  called  either,  "The  kingdom  of 
God,"  or,  "The  kingdom  of  heaven."  In  fact  both  these  designa- 
tions are  used  frequently.  John  began  his  preaching,  saying, 
"llepent  ye,  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand".  (Mat.  3:  2). 
Jesus  began  with  the  same  text  (see  Mat.  4 :  17).  According  to 
Mark  (chap.  1 :  15)  Jesus  came  into  Galilee  preaching  the  gospel 
of  the  kingdom  of  God  and  saying,  "  The  time  is  fulfilled  and  th'e 
kingdom  of  God  is  at  hand."  Luke  has  it,  "  The  kingdom  of  God" 
(chap.  4:  43,  and  8:1).  "I  must  preach  the  kingdom  of  God  to 
other  cities  also."     "  Showing  the  glad  tidings  of  the  kingdom  of 

God." 1  quote  only  a  part  of  these  numerous  cases,  yet  enough 

to  show  (1.)  that  Daniel's  fifth  kingdom  is  precisely  the  gospel 
kingdom  of  the  New  Testament,  our  divine  Lord  himself  being  the 
highest  authority  for  this  identity;  and  (2.)  that  its  time  was  then 
"fulfilled;"  it  was  "at  hand"  and  was  set  up  during  that  genera- 
tion. (The  proof  of  this  last  point  will  be  adduced  more  fully  in 
my  notes  on  Dan.  7.)  This  identification  of  the  fifth  kingdom  is  a 
point  of  the  greatest  importance.  Especially  should  it  be  noted 
that  both  Jesus  Christ  and  his  inspired  apostles,  by  taking  up  these 
words  of  Daniel  and  applying  them  to  the  reign  of  Christ,  become 
themselves  so  far  forth  the  interpreters  of  Daniel's  prophecy,  certify- 
ing to  us  that  in  their  view  the  Spirit  who  spake  by  Daniel  meant 
by  this  fifth  kingdom  that  of  the  gospel  age  whose  king  was  Jesus 
the  Messiah. Let  it  be  borne  in  mind  that  of  these  five  king- 
doms, four  are  in  point  of  origin  earthly;  the  fifth  heavenly:  four 
are  of  this  world;  the  fifth  is  "not  of  this  world:"  four  are  of  the 
sort  well  known  to  profane  history ;  the  fifth  is  of  the  sort  little 
knoAvn,  except  in  sacred  history — a  kingdom  whose  defined  purpose 
is  "righteousness,  peace  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost."  Though 
eminently  spiritual,  it  yet  none  the  less  controls  the  external  life — 
unto  universal  righteousness. 

I  call  special  attention  to  yet  another  point.  In  a  definite  series 
of  prophetic  events — a  series  which  has  a  well-defined  commence- 
ment and  a  well-defined  close — it  is  of  the  utmost  consequence  to 
note  well  where  it  begins  and  where  it  closes.  What  are  techni- 
cally called  the  termini — the  "terminus  a  qvio,"  the  starting-point 
from  which  the  series  begins  :  and  the  "  terminus  ad  quem,"  the 
closing  point  down  to  which  it  comes  but  no  farther — are  beyond 
measure  important  to  be  carefully  ascertained.  They  are  the  great 
landmarks  of  prophetic  interpretation.  For  these  symbols  do  not 
mean  every  thing.  They  must  not  be  wrested  to  mean  any  and  every 
sort  of  thing  that  the  fancy  of  any  interpreter  or  any  reader  may  sug- 
gest.    Their  meaning  is  shut  up  within  these  ascertained  termini; 


DANIEL.-^CHAP.  II.  307 

between  the  point  where  the  series  begins  and  the  point  where  it 
closes. In  the  present  case,  the  series  begins  with  Nebuchad- 
nezzar. "  Thou  art  this  head  of  gold."  The  fourth  kingdom  ends 
not  later  than  the  point  where  the  fifth  begins ;  for  plainly  the  fifth 
succeeds  the  fourth  as  the  second  docs  the  first,  and  the  third  the 
second,  and  the  fourth  the  third.  So  the  symbols  imply.  The 
stone  while  yet  a  stone,  and  before  it  has  grown  into  a  mountain, 
smites  the  whole  image — legs,  feet,  and  toes,  as  truly  as  head, 
breast,  belly  und  thighs — and  breaks  all  in  pieces.  In  fact,  the 
smiting  blow  is  specially  said  to  have  been  upon  the  feet.  Hence 
the  natural  sense  of  the  symbol  is  that  the  fourth  kingdom  (as  really 
as  the  first  three)  is  demolished  before  the  fifth  is  inaugurated  as 

a  visible  kingdom  among  men. But  here  special  attention  should 

be  given  to  the  corresponding  interpretation  (v.  44).  "In  the  days 
of  these  kings  shall  the  God  of  heaven  set  up  a  kingdom."  On  this 
passage  two  important  questions  arise ;  (a. )  What  kings  are  meant  ? 
(b.)  In  what  sense  does  the  God  of  heaven  set  up  his  kingdom  in 

their  days  ? (a.)  As  to  the  first  point,  some  interpreters  assume  that 

the  kings  referred  to  are  the  toes  of  the  image.  But  this  view  can 
not  be  sustained.  The  language,  "  these  kings,"  implies  that  they 
have  been  distinctly  brought  to  view  already.  But  there  has  been 
no  hint  that  the  toes  are  kings.  Other  kings  have  been  before  the 
mind;  Nebuchadnezzar  especially  and  first — leading  the  analogy 
of  the  vision.  The  nest  kingdom  had  its  equally  prominent  repre- 
sentative king — Cyrus.  The  third  was  embodied  in  its  one  great 
monarch — practically  its  first  and  its  last — Alexander.  Analogy 
would  suggest  that  the  fourth  had  also  its  great  kings,  one  or 
more.  To  these,  then,  we  must  suppose  reference  is  made  in  the 
phrase,  "In  the  days  of  these  kings,"  and  not  to  the  toes  of  the 
image  specially,  and  much  less  exclusively,  (b.)  To  the  question. 
In  what  sense  was  Messiah's  kingdom  set  up  in  the  days  of  those 
kings?  I  answer:  Only  in  the  sense  of  preparatory  work,  done 
by  the  agencies  of  divine  providence.  The  demohtion  of  those 
kingdoms  prepared  the  way  for  the  formal,  visible  inauguration  of 
Messiah's  kingdom.  This  visible  inauguration  and  setting  up  fol- 
lowed that  demolition,  and  was  not  strictly  simultaneous.  The 
language  which  is  very  general,  certainly  admits  this  construction ; 
the  sense  of  the  symbols  seems  to  require  it;  and  yet  further,  the 
genius  of  the  entire  vision  sustains  it — this  genius  or  scope  being, 
in  the  words  of  Ezekiel  (chap.  21:  27),  "I  will  overturn,  overturn, 
overturn  it;  and  it  shall  be  no  more,  until  he  come  whose  right  it 

is :  and  I  will  give  it  him." But  a  more  thorough  and  extended 

investigation  of  this  point,  and  indeed  of  many  other  points,  will  be 
due  when  we  reach  the  seventh  chapter.  That  vision  of  successive 
beasts  is  beyond  all  question  parallel  to  this  vision  of  the  great 
image.  It  goes  over  the  same  line  of  thought ;  gives  the  same  series 
of  four  great  empires,  followed  by  the  fifth — that  of  Alessiah  and 
of  his  people ;  and  scarcely  differs  from  this  in  any  respect,  save  that 
it  presents  a  new  set  of  symbols  and  gives  much  more  detail  on  two 
important  points;  viz.,  (1.)  The  work  and  the  doom  of  the  fourth 


308  DANIEL.— CHAP.  II. 

beast  and  of  his  little  horn:  and  (2.)  The  precise  order  of  succes- 
sion between  the  fourth  and  the  fifth  kingdoms ;  the  destruction  of  the 
fourth  beast  and  all  his  horns,  preceding  and  followed  by  the  inaug- 
uration both  in  heaven  and  in  earth  of  this  fifth  king  and  kingdom. 
1  propose  therefore  to  defer  the  full  and  exhaustive  discussion  of 

the  significance  of  the  fourth  kingdom  till  we  come  to  chap.  7. 

Enough  has  been  adduced  however  already  to  show  that  the  fourth 
kingdom  must  l^e  that  of  Alexander's  successors  and  not  the  lioman 

empire. For,  consider  the  field  where  we   are   to*  look  for  this 

fourth  kingdom. Chronologically^  its  whole  history  must  lie  be- 
tween the  death  of  Alexander,  B.  C.  323,  and  the  birth  of  Christ. 
Home  is  not  there  :  the  fragments  of  Alexander's  empire  under  his 
successors  are  there. Territorially^  it  should  be  sought  in  West- 
ern Asia,  not  in  Europe ;  in  general,  on  the  same  territory  where 

the  first,  second,  and  third  kingdoms  stood. Politically^  it  should 

be  the  immediate  successor  of  Alexander's  empire,  recasting  much 
of  the  same  materials;  in  general,  changing  the  dynasty,  but  not 
the  nations  and  tribes  composing  the  elements  of  its  population  and 
power.  This  law  obtains  in  respect  to  the  first  three  kingdoms; 
Mdiy  should  it  not  in  respect  to  the  fourth  as  well  ?  Analogy  re- 
quires it.      In   this   point,  therefore,  analogy  shuts  off  Kome   and 

points  to  the  kingdoms  of  Alexander's  successors. Yet  again,  as 

to  general  character;  this  fourth  kingdom,  according  to  the  symbol 
and  its  interpretation,  is  mixed,  composite,  brittle,  inadhesive,  not 
unified   and  consolidated  into  one  firm  power.     These  are  strong 

points  of  its  character. In  all  these  points  the  description  fits 

the  fragmentary  empire  that  immcdiatel}'  follows  Alexander ;  while 
for  this  period  (B.  C.  332-0)  it  does  not  iit  Rome  at  all.  No  human 
kingdom  was  ever  more  unlike  this  description  than  Rome  was  in 
the  early  ages  of  history;  or  say  during  two  centuries  after  the 

death  of  Alexander. Finally,  the  first  three  kingdoms  were  of 

special  interest  to  the  Jews,  because  their  own  nation  bore  the 
closest  political  relations  to  each  of  them;  either  in  captive  subjec- 
tion or  under  friendly  protection,  or  exposed  more  or  less  to  hostile 

collision. The  powers  that  next   succeeded  Alexander,   filling 

these  relations  to  the  Jews,  were  first  and  most,  the  Greek-Syrian; 
and  next  the  Greek-Egyptian.  It  was  not  till  very  near  the  close 
of  this   period  that  the  Romans  came  into  any  political  relations 

whatever  toward  the  Jews. Or,  to  put  this  thought  in  another 

form :  These  four  kingdoms  have  a  place  in  Jewish  prophecy  be- 
cause of  their  relations  to  the  Jewish  state  and  to  the  kingdom  of 
God.  as  embosomed  in  its  undeveloped  germ  among  that  people.  It 
was  really  for  the  sake  of  revealing  to  Daniel  and  to  Daniel's  peo- 
ple what  should  "befall  them  in  the  latter  days"  (chap.  10:  14), 
all  along  down  to  the  coming  of  their  ^lessiah,  that  these  prophe- 
cies were  revealed.  They  touch  the  political  history  of  the  king- 
doms of  this  world  only  because  those  particular  kingdoms  sustained 
very  special  relations  to  the  great  kingdom  that  is  not  of  this  Avorld, 
which  lay  in  embryo  in  the  Jewish  state,  yet  nursed  and  guarded 
there  under  the  perfect  eye  of  God,  till  the  time  was  fulfilled  and 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  II.  309 

the  kingdom  of  God  truly  came — i.  e.,  came  forth  visibly  before  all 
the  world.  That  is  to  say,  it  is  not  the  genius  of  Daniel"  s  prophecy 
to  teach  universal  history,  nor  to  teach  profane  history  at  all, 
apart  from  its  relations  to  Christ's  kingdom  before  his  coming  and 
doAvn  to  that  coming.  His  great  central  idea  is — The  invisible  arm 
of  King  Messiah,  defending  his  unborn  kingdom  (lying  in  embryo 
in  the  Jewish  state)  against  four  great  worldly  powers  in  succes- 
sion, overturning  one,  and  another,  and  yet  another,  and  thus  giv- 
ing visible  birth  and  development  to  Messiah's  kingdom,  to  super- 
cede them  all,  and  surpass  them  all  in  its  world-wide  sway. 

liome  has  no  place  in  this  programme.  Universal  history,  in  its 
scientific  point  of  view,  or  as  related  to  what  we  are  wont  to  ac- 
count the  march  of  the  great  civilizations  of  mankind,  was  never 
the  governing  purpose  of  Daniel's  prophecy. If  it  be  yet  main- 
tained that  the  fourth  kingdom  must  be  the  Roman  because  of  its 
iron  strength,  I  answer,  (1.)  Here  was  strength  and  weakness 
blended — a  fact  which  harmonizes  with  the  brittle  character  of  the 
kingdoms  of  Alexander's  successors,  but  does  not  by  any  means 
harmonize  with  the  Roman  power  of  this  age; — and  (2.)  Daniel 
could  not  fail  to  see  and  measure  the  strength  of  these  kingdoms 
from  his  stand-point  of  paternal  care  for  his  own  people.  Those 
powers  would  be  seen  strong  and  terrible,-  which  were  in  fact  for- 
midable or  destructive  to  the  Jews.  Of  this  more  will  be  said  in 
the  notes  upon  chap.  7. These  points  of  reply  by  no  means  in- 
clude all  the  objections  to  the  Roman  theory.  They  only  touch  the 
special  plea  for  it,  on  the  score  of  its  assumed  iron  strength. 

46.  Then  the  king  Nebuchadnezzar  fell  upon  his  face, 
and  worshiped  Daniel,  and  commanded  that  they  should 
offer  an  oblation  and  sweet  odors  unto  him. 

47.  The  king  answered  unto  Daniel,  and  said,  Of  a  truth  it 
is,  that  your  God  is  a  God  of  gods,  and  a  Lord  of  kings,  and 
a  revealer  of  secrets,  seeing  thou  couldest  reveal  this  secret. 

Profoundly  impressed  with  the  greatness  of  Daniel  and  of 
Daniel's  God,  and  quite  too  oblivious  of  Daniel's  personal  dis- 
claimer ("not  for  any  wisdom  that  I  have  more  than  any  living,") 
the  king  fell  prostrate  before  him  and  gave  command  that  an  obla- 
tion and  sweet  odors  should  be  offered  to  him.  This  must  be  as- 
cribed to  his  heathen  ideas.  Still  it  did  not  preclude  from  his 
mind  a  strong  conviction  of  the  supremacy  of  the  God  of  Daniel. 
His  profession  of  faith  on  this  point  is  (for  the  time)  very  strong. 
We  have  to  deplore  that  it  was  so  transient,  or,  at  least,  so  ineffi- 
cacious in  the  line  of  its  proper  antagonism  to  his  notions  of  idol 
gods  and  of  image  worship. 

48.  Then  the  king  made  Daniel  a  great  man,  and  gave 
him  many  great  gifts,  and  made  him  ruler  over  the  whole 
province  of  Babylon,  and  chief  of  the  governors  over  all 
the  wdse  men  of  Babylon. 


310  DANIEL.— CHAP.  III. 

49.  Then  Daniel  requested  of  the  king,  and  he  set  Shad- 
rach,  Meshach,  and  Abed-nego,  over  the  affairs  of  the  prov- 
ince of  Bab}don :  but  Daniel  sat  in  the  gate  of  the  king. 

Promotion  followed,  and  Daniel  is  advanced  to  the  position  of 
prime  minister  for  the  province  of  Babylon  and  head-man  over  the 
whole  fraternity  of  magicians,  soothsayers,  priests  of  religion  and 
of  science.  At  his  request  his  three  friends  also  are  promoted  to 
important  trusts.  Daniel's  place  in  the  gate  of  the  king  put  him 
next  the  royal  person  as  his  first  counsellor — a  position  of  the  very 

highest  trust  and  influence. Such  were  the  first  and  immediate 

results  of  the  divine  favor  to  Daniel  in  revealing  the  secret  of  the 
king's  dream. 


CHAPTER  III. 

The  king  makes  a  huge  golden  image,  sets  it  up,  and  convenes 
the  officers  of  every  grade  in  his  kingdom  to  attend  its  dedication 
and  join  in  its  worship.  .Daniel's  three  friends  refuse,  and  are  ca.st 
into  a  furnace  of  fire :  God  preserves  them  from  all  harm,  and  the 
king  by  decree  dooms  to  death  all  who  shall  speak  against  their 
God. 

1.  Nebuchadnezzar  the  king  made  an  image  of  gold, 
whose  height  ivas  threescore  cubits,  and  the  breadth  thereof 
six  cubits :  he  set  it  up  in  the  plain  of  Dura,  in  the  province 
of  Babylon. 

Assuming  the  cubit  to  be  about  eighteen  inches  in  length,  this 

image  of  gold  was  ninety  feet  high  and  nine  broad. In  view  of 

the  facts  adduced  in  the  general  introduction  respecting  this  king's 
devotion  to  his  own  God,  Bel-Merodach,  there  can  be  no  rational 
doubt  that  he  intended  this  image  to  represent  the  great  power, 

majesty,  and  excellence  of  this  god. Was  the  idea  of  it  suggested 

by  his  wonderful  dream  of  a  great  image?  That  image  Avas 
"great,"  "its  brightness  was  excellent,"  and  "the  form  thereof  was 
terrible."  It  is  not  specially  surprising,  therefore,  that  in  a  mind 
thoroughly  imbued  with  the  notions  of  idol  and  image  worship,  the 
huge  image  seen  in  his  dream  should  suggest  the  construction  of 
this  great  image  of  gold  to  represent  his  view  of  the  greatness  and 
excellent  glory  of  his  god.  The  consummate  art  of  Satan's  master- 
mind was  in  it  also,  the  managing  spirit  in  the  whole  realm  of  idol- 
atry.    He  held  and  led  the  mind  of  this  heathen  king. Alas, 

that  a  mind  of  such  decision  and  energy  should  so  utterly  lack  the 
just  idea  of  the  spiritual  being  of  the  Great  God,  and  of  his  tran- 
sccndant  moral  perfections  I 

2.  Then  Nebuchadnezzar  the  king  sent  to  gather  together 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  III.  31 J 

the  princes,  the  governors,  arid  the  captains,  the  judges,  the 
treasurers,  the  counsellors,  the  sheriffs,  and  all  the  rulers  of 
the  provinces,  to  come  to  the  dedication  of  the  image  which 
Nebuchadnezzar  the  king  had  set  up. 

3.  Then  the  princes,  the  governors,  and  captains,  the 
judges,  the  treasurers,  the  counsellors,  the  sheriffs,  and  all 
the  rulers  of  the  provinces,  were  gathered  together  unto 
the  dedication  of  the  image  that  Nebuchadnezzar  the  king 
had  set  up:  and  they  stood  before  the  image  that  Nebu- 
chadnezzar had  set  up. 

The  king  could  not  convene  all  the  people  of  his  vast  dominions. 
The  next  thing  to  it  was  to  convene  all  the  officers  of  every  name 
and  grade.  These  would  be  the  strong  and  influential  men  of  his 
realm.  Hence  this  convocation  would  send  its  influence  for  idol- 
atry down  through  the  whole  political  frame^work  of  his  kingdom 

and  reach  its  entire  population. The  great  number  of  grades  of 

officers  indicates  a  high  degree  of  system  and  order  in  the  consti- 
tution of  this  government.  Of  the  eight  several  officers  grouped  in 
this  summons,  the  first  is  the  highest  grade,  a  sort  of  viceroy.  The 
second  is  the  class  of  deputies.  The  third  is  commonly  rendered 
"governor,"  and  is  used  repeatedly  by  Ezra,  Nehemiah,  and  others ; 
indeed,  it  is  identically  the  Pasha.  The  fourth  class  are  the  chief 
judges;  the  fifth  the  royal  treasurers;  the  sixth  were  persons  skilled 
in  the  law  and  might  be  either  counsellors  or  judges ;  the  seventh 
term  seems  to  bo  essentially  the  same  as  the  sixth,  lawyers ;  and 
the  last  comprehends  all  other  officers  in  the  province.  All  these 
were  summoned  to  come  to  the  dedication  of  the  great  image. 

4.  Then  an  herald  cried  aloud,  To  you  it  is  commanded,  O 
people,  nations,  and  languages, 

5.  Tliat  at  what  time  ye  hear  the  sound  of  the  cornet, 
flute,  harp,  sackbut,  psaltery,  dulcimer,  and  all  kinds  of 
music,  ye  fall  down  and  worship  the  golden  image  that 
Nebudchadnezzar  the  king  hath  set  up. 

6.  And  whoso  falleth  not  down  and  worshipeth,  shall 
the  same  hour  be  cast  into  the  midst  of  a  burning  fiery 
furnace. 

7.  Therefore,  at  that  time,*when  all  the  people  heard  the 
sound  of  the  cornet,  flute,  harp,  sackbut,  psaltery,  and  all 
kinds  of  music,  all  the  people,  the  nations,  and  the  lan- 
guages, fell  down  mid  worshiped  the  golden  image  that 
Nebuchadnezzar  the  king  had  set  up. 

The  signal  for  simultaneous  worship  by  prostration  of  the  body 
before  the  great  image  was  to  be  given  by  this  grand  orchestra, 
which  seems  to  have  combined  all  sorts  of  musical  instruments 


312  DANIEL.— CHAP.  III. 

known  in  that  age — another  case  in  proof  that  the  controlling 
spirit  in  all  systems  of  idolatry  seizes  on  every  attraction  of  art, 
and  not  least,  upon  external  beauty  and  upon  music  as  important 
auxiliaries  of  power. The  precise  character  of  these  various  in- 
struments can  be  reached  in  this  age  only  proximately.  The  first 
was  a  horn.  The  third  is  the  word  "cithera"  in  Hebrew  letters. 
The  "sackbut"  is  thought  to  have  been  a  trombone — an  instru- 
ment which  secures  a  wide  range  of  tone  by  being  constructed  with 
a  slide  by  which  its  length  and  volume  may  be  changed  at  pleas- 
ure. The  word  "psaltery"  is  the  same  in  Ilebrew  and  in  (jreek. 
The  last  specified  kind  is  in  the  Chaldee,  "symphony;"  perhaps 
resembling  our  keyed  instruments  which  perform  two  or  more  parts 

in  harmony. Burning  to  death  in  a  furnace  of  fire  was  one  mode 

of  capital  punishment.  Its  horrid  cruelty  testifies  that  the  age  had 
scarcely  begun  to  emerge  from  barbarism. 

8.  Wherefore  at  that  time  certain  Chaldeans  came  near, 
and  accused  the  Jews. 

9.  They  spake  and  said  to  the  king  Nebuchadnezzar,  O 
king,  live  forever. 

10.  Thou,  O  king,  hast  made  a  decree,  that  every  man 
that  shall  hear  the  sound  of  the  cornet,  flute,  harp,  sackbut, 
psaltery,  and  dulcimer,  and  all  kinds  of  music,  shall  fall 
down  and  worship  the  golden  image : 

11.  And  whoso  falleth  not  down  and  worshipeth,  that 
he  should  be  cast  into  the  midst  of  a  burning  fiery  furnace. 

12.  There  are  certain  Jews  whom  thou  hast  set  over  the 
affairs  of  the  province  of  Babylon,  Shadrach,  Meshach,  and 
Abed-nego :  these  men,  O  kmg,  have  not  regarded  thee : 
they  serve  not  -thy  gods,  nor  worship  the  golden  image  which 
thou  hast  set  up. 

This  accusation  might  be  due  to  their  jealousy  of  the  high  honor 
enjoyed  by  those  Jews,  or  to  their  zeal  for  idol-worship  and  for 
universal  obedience  to  the  king — in  the  present  case  mostly  to  the 
former.  They  put  the  case  as  one  involving  both  contempt  of  the 
king  and  of  his  gods.  The  original  words  rendered  "accused" 
are  singularly  expressive;  "They  ate  up  the  pieces  of  the  Jews" — 
ate  them  up  piecemeal^ — indicating  savage  and  even  cannibal  fe- 
rocity. In  more  than  one  oriental  language  this  is  a  current  con- 
ception of  slander  and  the  way  of  expressing  it. 

13.  Then  Nebuchadnezzar  in  his  rage  and  fury  com- 
manded to  bring  Shadrach,  Meshach,  and  Abed-nego. 
Then  they  brought  these  men  before  the  king. 

14.  Nebuchadnezzar  spake  and  said  unto  them.  Is  it  true, 
O  Shadrach,  Meshach,  and  Abed-nego,  do  not  ye  serve  my 
gods,  nor  worship  the  golden  image  wdiicli  I  have  set  up? 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  III.  313 

15.  Now  if  ye  be  ready  that  at  what  time  ye  hear  the 
sound  of  the  corliet,  flute,  harp,  sackbut,  psaltery,  and  dul- 
cimer, and  all  kinds  of  music,  ye  fall  down  and  worship  the 
image  which  I  have  made,  well:  but  if  ye  worship  not,  ye 
shall  be  cast  the  same  hour  into  the  midst  of  a  burning 
fiery  furnace;  and  who  is  that  God  that  shall  deliver  you 
out  of  my  hands  ? 

The  king  orders  these  offenders  before  him ;  states  the  case ;  and 
gives  them  one  more  trial  to  test  their  obedience.  His  last  words, 
"Who  is  that  God  that  shall  deliver  you  out  of  my  hand?"  shows 
that  as  yet  he  has  practically  no  just  sense  of  the  power  of  the  Su- 
preme Being,  or  indeed  of  any  god  higher  than  mortal  man. 

16.  Shadrach,  Meshach,  and  Abed-nego,  answered  and 
said  to  the  king,  O  Nebuchadnezzar,  we  are  not  careful  to 
answer  thee  in  this  matter. 

17.  If  it  be  so,  our  God  whom  we  serve  is  able  to  deliver 
us  from  the  burning  fiery  furnace,  and  he  will  deliver  us  out 
of  thy  hand,  O  king. 

18.  But  if  not,  be  it  known  unto  thee,  O  king,  that  we 
will  not  serve  thy  gods,  nor  worship  the  golden  image  which 
thou  hast  set  up. 

The  original  word  rendered  "careful,"  in  the  phrase,  "We  are 
not  careful  to  answer  thee,"  is  specially  forcible.  It  means,  "We 
have  no  need  to  answer  thee,"  we  are  in  no  straits;  are  not  pressed 
by  any  stringent  necessity  as  men  who  tremble  in  fear  for  their 
lives ;  for  if  thou  shouldest  do  thy  worst — cast  us  into  the  fiery  fur- 
nace— our  Grod  is  able  to  deliver  us ;  and  if  he  should  not,  we  are 
ready  for  the  result,  let  come  what  may.  Be  it  known  to  thee, 
therefore,  we  will  not  serve  thy  gods  nor  worship  thy  golden  image ! 
This  was  moral  heroism  and  devoted  piety,  both  of  the  higliesfc 
order. 

19.  Then  was  Nebuchadnezzar  full  of  fury,  and  the  form 
of  his  visage  was  changed  against  Shadrach,  ]\Ieshach,  and 
Abed-nego :  therefore  he  spake,  and  commanded  that  they 
should  heat  the  furnace  one  seven  times  more  than  it  was 
wont  to  be  heated. 

20.  And  he  commanded  the  most  mighty  men  that  icero 
in  the  army  to  bind  Shadrach,  Meshach,  and  Abed-nego, 
and  to  cast  them  into  the  burning  fiery  furnace. 

21.  Then  these  men  were  bound  in  their  coats,  their 
hosen,  and  their  hats,  and  their  other  garments,  and  were 
cast  into  the  midst  of  the  burning  fiery  furnace. 

22.  Therefore  because  the  king's  commandment  was  ur- 

14 


314  DANIEL.— CHAP.  III. 

gent,  and  the  furnace  exceeding  hot,  the  flame  of  the  fire 
slew  those  men  that  took  up  Shadrach,  Me'shach,  and  Abed- 
nego. 

23.  And  these  three  men,  Shadrach,  Meshach,  and  Abed- 
nego,  fell  down  bound  into  the  midst  of  the  burning  fiery 
furnace. 

The  king  of  Babylon  had  never  met  such  heroic  men  before. 
His  will  had  perhaps  never  been  so  squarely  resisted.  Hence  his 
wrath  is  wrought  up  intensely.  His  order  to  heat  the  furnace 
sevenfold  above  its  usual  point  only  evinced  his  own  heated  and 
almost  maddening  passion,  for  no  man  in  his  cool  reason  would 
think  the  killing  any  more  sure  with  sevenfold  heat  than  with  the 
usual  amount.  Such  wrath  of  man,  however,  is  very  sure  to  work 
out  God's  praise,  as  it  did  here.  The  miracle  of  protection  was  the 
more  signal ;  the  rebuke  to  the  king  was  the  more  pungent  and  the 
more  widely  known ;  and  the  reaction  from  the  death  of  the  execu- 
tioners served  still  to  heighten  the  good  moral  impression. The 

writer  states  carefully  that  the  men  were  bound  with  all  their 
usual  clothing  on.  The  special  reason  for  noting  this  with  care 
was  to  show  "that  the   fire  was  restrained  from  harming  not  their 

persons  only,  but  their  clothes  also. The  precise  sense  of  the 

words  rendered,  "Their  coats,  their  hosen,  and  their  hats,"  is  of 
relatively  small  consequence  to  us;  yet  it  may  be  worth  the 
space  required  to  say  briefly,  that  in  the  original  the  first  word 
means  (probably)  their  mantles,  the  usual  outer  garment ;  the  sec- 
ond, either  the  tunic,  the  usual  undergarment  coming  down  to  the 
knees,  or  as  some  suppose,  wide  and  loose  trowscrs.  The  latter 
was  the  view  of  our  English  translators  in  the  word  "  hosen,"  which 
at  that  time  was  used  to  denote  trowsers  and  not  stockings.  The 
last  word  seems  to  mean  a  garment  girded  on  about  the  person,  and 
not  a  "hat." 

24.  Then  Nebuchadnezzar  the  king  was  astonished,  and 
rose  up  in  haste,  ami  spake,  and  said  unto  his  counsellors. 
Did  not  we  cast  three  men  bound  into  the  midst  of  the  fire  ? 
They  answered  and  said  unto  the  king,  True,  O  king. 

25.  He  answered  and  said,  Lo,  I  see  four  men  loose, 
walking  in  the  midst  of  the  fire,  and  they  have  no  hurt: 
and  the  form  of  the  fourth  is  like  the  Son  of  God. 

Then,  Avhcn  the  king  heard  the  result,  he  became  greatly  excited 
with  new  and  strange  emotions,  far  unlike  those  of  his  previous 
passion.  The  thought  flashes  upon  him  that  he  has  come  into  con- 
flict here  with  a  new  and  unknown  Power !  He  has  cast  three  men 
into  liis  furnace  of  fire  sevenfold  heated,  and  lo,  the  fire  does  not 
touch  them!  And  more  fearful,  if  possible,  than  even  this — there 
is  a  fourth  personage  there,  and  the  glory  of  his  form  strikes  him 
as  that  of  a  Son  of  Ood!     It  is  altogether'  unearthly! The  word 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  III.  315 

"Son"  in  the  phrase  "Son  of  God'  is  without  the  article.  The 
expression  therefore  does  not  imply  any  knowledge  of  the  Son  of 
God  in  the  New  Testament,  sense,  but  only  indicates  that  he  thought 
this  personage  divine. 

26.  Then  Nebucliadnezzar  came  near  to  the  mouth  of  the 
burning  fiery  furnace,  and  spake,  and  said,  Shadrach,  Me- 
shach,  and  Abed-nego,  ye  servants  of  the  most  high  God, 
come  forth,  and  come  hither.  Then  Shadrach,  Meshach,  and 
Abed-nego,  came  forth  of  the  midst  of  the  fire. 

27.  And  the  princes,  governors,  and  captains,  and  the 
king's  counsellors,  being  gathered  together,  saw  these  men, 
upon  wdiose  bodies  the  fire  had  no  power,  nor  was  a  hair 
of  their  head  singed,  neither  were  their  coats  changed,  nor 
the  smell  of  fire  had  passed  on  them. 

The  king  knows  now  that  the  great  God  is  with  those  men  and 
that  they  are  his  servants.  So  he  accosts  them ;  "  Ye  servants  of 
tlie  most  High  God,  come  forth  and  come  hither."  He  does  not 
question  their  power   though  bound,  to  come  forth  at  their  own 

option. The  miracle  was  vsTOught  in  the  most  puljlic  manner. 

The  king's  high  officers  were  called  together.  They  could  see  the 
sevenfold  heated  furnace.  They  knew  those  three  men  were  cast 
in  there,  bound;  they  saw  them  come  out  unharmed — not  a  hair 
singed — not  even  the  smell  of  fire  on  their  clothing.  Verily,  this 
was  the  finger  of  God  and  they  all  were  witnesses. 

28.  Then  Nebuchadnezzar  spake,  and  said,  Blessed  he  the 
God  of  Shadrach,  Meshach,  and  Abed-nego,  who  hath  sent 
his  angel,  and  delivered  his  servants  that  trusted  in  him, 
and  have  changed  the  king's  word,  and  yielded  their  bodies, 
that  they  might  not  serve  nor  w^orship  any  god,  excej^t  their 
own  God. 

It  is  worthy  of  notice  that  the  king  began  now  to  appreciate  the 
consistency  and  moral  heroism  of  these  men  who  so  firmly  refused 
to  worship  any  other  God  than  their  own.  The  very  qualities  which 
so  stirred  his  wrath  before,  command  his  profoundest  admiration 
now.  He  really  finds  that  the  God  of  these  Hebrew  youth  is  able 
to  protect  them  in  the  midst  of  the  hottest  furnace,  and  hence  he 
concludes  that  the  exclusive  worship  of  such  a  God  will  pay.  The 
things  he  specially  notes  as  done  by  them  are — that  they  "  trusted 
in  their  God"  (he  had  never  seen  such  trust  before !);  that  they 
^^  changecV  in  the  sense  of  disregarding  and  finally  reversing  the 
king's  mandate;  and  that  they  "yielded  tlieir  bodies"  to  be  burned 
if  the  Lord  should  not  be  pleased  to  protect  them.  These  were 
new  developments  for  Babylon!  When  in  all  the  foregone  ages 
had  such  things  been  seen  in  that  proud  city  ? 


316  DANIEL.— CHAP.  III. 

29.  Therefore  I  make  a  decree,  that  every  people,  nation, 
and  language,  which  speak  any  thing  amiss  against  the  God 
of  Shadrach,  Meshach,  and  Abed-nego,  shall  be  cut  in  pieces, 
and  their  houses  shall  be  made  a  dunghill :  because  there  is 
no  other  god  that  can  deliver  after  this  sort. 

One  important  result  of  these  events  is  a  special  decree,  for"l)id- 
ding  the  people  of  his  entire  realm  to  say  aught  amiss  against  the 
God  of  these  Hebrews.  Apparently,  the  reason  assigned  went  forth 
with  the  decree — viz.,  "Because  there  is  no  other  God  that  can  de- 
liver after  this  sort" — a  distinct  recognition  of  the  God  of  Israel  as 
higher  and  mightier  than  all  the  gods  of  the  heathen.  This  decree 
went  over  all  his  realm,  a  grand  manifesto,  setting  forth  the  convic- 
tion of  this  autocrat  on  his  throne  in  favor  of  the  great  Jehovah. 
Naturally  it  would  carry  with  it  an  account  more  or  less  full  of  the 
circumstances  which  had  called  it  forth.  Officers  of  government 
from  his  whole  realm  were  its  witnesses.  Hence  these  events  must 
have  sown  broadcast  some  ideas  of  the  true  God  among  the  thousands 
and  probably  millions  of  his  subjects.     Verily  the  hand  of  God  was 

gloriously  manifested  in  this ! Its  moral  effect  must  have  been 

all  the  greater  because  this  was  the  final  outcome  of  a  public  con- 
flict between  the  king's  heathen  god  and  Jehovah  of  Hosts.  Nor 
let  us  fail  to  note  that  here  as  usual,  an  unseen  hand  made  the 
wrath  of  man  work  out  the  praise  of  God.  By  how  much  the  more 
the  proud  king  manifested  his  wrath  against  those  Hebrew  youth, 
by  so  much  the  more  signally  did  God  bring  forth  his  own  glory  in 
protecting  them  and  confounding  all  those  idol-worshipers!  In 
what  emergency  never  so  difficult  have  the  resources  of  the  Al- 
mighty failed  to  overmaster  the  wit  and  the  might  of  mortals  and 
make  his  own  glory  shine  the  more  by  reason  of  their  most  fierce 
and  mad  endeavors  1 

30.  Then  the  king  promoted  Shadrach,  Meshach,  and 
Abed-nego,  in  the  province  of  Babylon. 

The  word  rendered  "promoted,"  means  to  put  forward  rapidly  to 

higher  positions  of  trust. Why  Daniel  was  not  a  party  with  his 

three  brethren,  both  in  their  noble  resistance  to  this  wicked  man- 
date, and  in  their  furnace  experience,  does  not  appear.  We  may 
be  very  sure  he  never  obeyed  that  mandate!  Very  probably  his 
position  shielded  him  from  prosecution.  His  sympathies  would  be 
wholly  with  his  brethren. 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  IV.  317 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Nebuchednezzar  has  a  second  drcfam,  predicting  his  own  insanity ; 
his  magicians  and  Chaldeans  can  not  give  him  its  interpretation. 
Daniel  gives  it ;  it  takes  place  at  the  end  of  twelve  months.  The  king 
is  deposed  from  his  throne  and  continues  insane  seven  years.  His 
reason  then  returns ;  he  resumes  his  scepter,  and  ascribes  honor  and 
glory  to  the  Most  High  God. 

1.  Nebuchadnezzar  the  king,  unto  all  people,  nations,  and 
languages,  that  dwell  in  all  the  earth;  Peace  be  multiplied 
unto  you. 

2.  I  thought  it  good  to  shew  the  signs  and  -wonders  that 
the  high  God  hath  w^rought  toward  me. 

3.  How  great  are  his  signs !  and  how  mighty  are  his  won- 
ders !  his  kingdom  is  an  everlasting  kingdom,  and  his  domin- 
ion is  from  generation  to  generation. 

This  entire  chapter  is  in  its  nature  a  royal  manifesto  or  proclama- 
tion, announcing  to  all  the  world  the  extraordinary  ways  of  the 
great  God  in  his  providences  toward  the  king.  By  "signs  and 
wonders"  he  means  the  supernatural  dreams;  the  predicted  in- 
sanity ;  the  moral  ends  which  the  Lord  sought  to  gain  by  it ;  and 
the  actual  results.  These  terms  are  usually  employed  in  the  scrip- 
tures to  denote  the  supernatural  works  of  God — those  which  are 
unlike  the  common  course  of  natural  events,  and  such  as  men  are 

wont  to  conceive  of  therefore  as  above  nature — supernatural. It 

is  noticeable  that  the  introduction  to  this  manifesto  recognizes  "the 
High  God"  as  the  Supreme  and  Eternal  Ruler,  at  the  head  of  a 
kingdom  which  endures  forever,  and  swaying  a  dominion  which 
does  not,  lik^  those  of  mortal  men,  pass  away  with  the  lapse  of 
human  generations,  but  holds  on,  unaffected  by  time,  from  genera- 
tion to  generation. This  manifesto  is  addressed,  not  to  the  people 

of  his  own  vast  realui  alone,  but  to  "  all  people,  nations  and  lan- 
guages that  dwell  in  all  the  earth."  This  universality,  coupled  with 
the  moral  fitness  and  force  of  the  document,  render  it  truly  magnifi- 
cent and  sublime.  Think  of  it  as  translated  into  every  spoken 
language  throughout  all  the  tribes  of  earth's  entire  population  and 
sent  to  them  from  the  once  proud  king^  of  great  Babylon  and  of  the 

vast  Chaldean  empire! A  humble  testimony  that,  great  as  this 

monarch  of  Babylon  had  been,  the  most  High  God  is  immeasurably 
greater;  that  glorious  and  powerful  as  his  empire  had  been  in  the 
eyes  of  men,  the  kingdom  of  the  great  God  is  mightier  far  and  ex- 
alted in  far  higher  glory! 

4.  I  Nebuchadnezzar  was  at  rest  in  my  house,  and  flour- 
ishing in  my  palace : 


318  DANIEL.— CHAP.  IV. 

5.  I  saw  a  dream  ^vhicli  made  me  afraid,  and  the  thoughts 
upon  my  bed  and  the  visions  of  my  head  troubled  me. 

It  was  while  he  was  at  rest  in  his  magnificent  palace  and  at  the 
height  of  his  prosperity  that  suddenly  this  dream  hefel  him,  and 
rudely  broke  up  his  peace  and  rest.  When  did  it  ever  happen  that 
a  stream  of  mere  earthly  pleasure  ran  long  without  disturbance 
or  waning?  The  joys  of  those  that  forget  God  have  no  living 
fountain. 

6.  Therefore  made  I  a  decree  to  bring  in  all  the  wise 
men  of  Babylon  before  me,  that  they  might  make  known 
unto  me  the  interpretation  of  the  dream. 

7.  Then  came  in  the  magicians,  the  astrologers,  the  Chal- 
deans, and  the  soothsayers:  and  I  told  the  dream  before 
them ;  but  they  did  not  make  known  unto  me  the  interj)re- 
tation  thereof. 

As  usual,  and  as  before  (chap.  2 :  2),  the  king  calls  in  the  wise 
men  of  Bal)ylon — the  professional  interpreters  of  dreams — to  make 
known  to  him  the  significance  of  this  dream.  In  the  present  case 
(unlike  the  former)  he  had  retained  the  dream,  and  could  readily 
relate  it;  but  even  so,  the  magicians  could  not  give  its  interpreta- 
tion. The  failure  was  for  this  reason  the  more  humiliating.  Be- 
fore they  could  say.  Give  us  the  dream  and  we  will  interpret. 
Mow  they  can  not  say  this.  Their  extraordinary  pretensions  react 
upon  them  to  their  deep  disgrace. 

8.  But  at  the  last  Daniel  came  in  before  me,  whose  name 
was  Belteshazzar,  according  to  the  name  of  my  god,  and  in 
whom  is  the  spirit  of  the  holy  gods :  and  before  him  I  told 
the  dream,  saying, 

9.  O  Belteshazzar,  master  of  the  magicians,  because  I 
know  that  the  spirit  of  the  holy  gods  is  in  tl^ce,  and  no 
secret  troubleth  thee,  tell  me  the  visions  of  my  dream  that 
I  have  seen,  and  the  interj)retation  thereof. 

Here  the  king's  manifesto  introduces  Daniel,  properly  referring 
to  his  new  Chaldean  name,  Belteshazzar,  ])y  which  he  seems  to 
have  been  known  in  the  king's  court,  and  proba])ly  to  foreign 
powers  as  well.  It  specially  recognizes  him  as  having  in  himself 
"  the  spirit  of  the  holy  gods,"  and  as  obtaining  his  surpassing 
skill  from  this  truly  divine  source.  No  distinctive  feature,  not  even 
that  of  almighty  power,  more  fitly  discriminates  between  Jehovah 
and  all  the  I'alse  gods  of  the  heathen,  than  this  quality  of  infinite 
holiness.  For  those  gods  are  utterly  impure  and  vile ;  arc  rQ,cognized 
by  their  worshipers  as  sharing  in  common  with  men  the  basest  pas- 
sions of  depraved  human  nature;  as  quarrelsome,  envious,  and  jeal- 
ous; as  sensual  and  utterly  selfish — infinitely  unlike  the  holy  God 
above,  in  every  moral  quality  of  character. The  king  well  un- 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  IV.  319 

derstands  that  no  secret  troubles  Daniel,  for  his  God  is  omniscient, 
and  omniscience  is  never  perplexed  with  any  thin";,  ho^Yever  deep 
and  dark  to  mortal  vision.  He  therefore  came  with  confidence  to 
Daniel  for  the  interpretation  of  his  dream, 

10.  Thus  were  the  visions  of  my  head  in  my  bed;  I 
saw,  and  behold  a  tree  in  the  midst  of  the  earth,  and  the 
height  thereof  was  great. 

11.  The  tree  grew,  and  was  strong,  and  the  height  thereof 
reached  unto  heaven,  and  the  sight  thereof  to  the  end  of  all 
the  earth : 

12.  The  leaves  thereof  icere  fair,  and  the  fruit  thereof 
mucli,  and  in  it  loas  meat  for  all:  the  beasts  of  the  field 
had  shadow  under  it,  and  the  fowls  of  the  heaven  dwelt  in 
the  boughs  thereof,  and  all  flesh  was  fed  of  it. 

13.1  saw  in  the  visions  of  my  head  upon  my  bed,  and  be- 
hold, a  watcher  and  a  holy  one  came  down  from  heaven ; 

14.  He  cried  aloud,  and  said  thus.  Hew  down  the  tree, 
and  cut  off  his  branches,  shake  off  his  leaves,  and  scatter 
his  fruit:  let  tlie  beasts  get  away  from  under  it,  and  the 
foAvls  from  his  branches. 

15.  Nevertheless,  leave  the  stump  of  his  roots  in  the 
earth,  even  witli  a  band  of  iron  and  brass,  in  the  tender 
grass  of  the  field  ;  and  let  it  be  wet  with  the  dew  of  heaven, 
and  let  his  portion  he  with  the  beasts  in  the  grass  of  the 
earth. 

16.  Let  his  heart  be  changed  from  man's,  and  let  a  beast's 
heart  be  given  unto  him  ;  and  let  seven  times   pass  over 

'him. 

17.  This  matter  is  by  the  decree  of  the  watchers,  and  the 
demand  by  the  word  of  the  holy  ones :  to  the  intent  that 
the  living  may  know  that  the  Most  High  ruleth  in  the  king- 
dom of  men,  and  giveth  it  to  w^homsoever  he  will,  and  set- 
teth  up  over  it  the  basest  of  men. 

The  dream  is  really  in  two  parts:  one  part  presented  to  the  eye; 
the  other  to  the  ear:  the  first  part  a  great  tree  which  the  king  saw; 
the  second,  an  oral  declaration  made  hy  an  angel  from  heaven, 
which  he  heard.  The  first  part  (vs.  10-12)  describes  the  tree — 
exceeding  great,  tall,  strong,  visible  to  the  ends  of  the  earth ;  of  im- 
mense foliage  and  most  abundant  fruit.  The  beasts  repose  under 
its  shade;  the  fowls  of  heaven  dwell  amid  its  branches,  and  all 

flesh  is  fed  from  its  stores  of  fruit. The  second  part  (vs.  13-17) 

recites  the  audible  proclamation.  The  king  sees  a  glorious  person- 
age, hero  described  as  "a  watcher,  even. a  holy  one,  coming  down 
from  heaven."     He  is  a  watcher,  one  of  God's  unsleeping  angels 


320  DANIEL.— CHAP.  IV. 

whom  he  puts  in  charge  over  portions  of  the  vast  providential 
agencies  of  his  universe.  The  term  angel,  contcmphites  this  order 
of  beings  as  sent  forth  on  some  mission,  "angel"  meaning  a  mes- 
senger. But  the  term  "watcher"  expresses  their  work  equally 
well.  "Are  they  not  all  ministering  spirits?"  (lleb.  1 :  14).  Some 
are  sent  specially  to  minister  to  the  heirs  of" salvation:  others,  as 
the  book  of  Daniel  teaches  (see  chap.  10:  and  11:  1,  and  12:  1), 
are  put  in  charge  over  the  kingdoms  of  men — the  great  agents  of 
the  Most  High  in  the  execution  of  his  providential  purposes  and 

government. In  this  case,   "tlie  watcher,  an  holy  one,"   came 

down  to  finish  out  the  dream  by  announcing  the  destiny  of  the  tree. 
This  he  proclaims  with  a  loud  voice;  "Hew  down  the  tree,  cut  off 
its  branches,"  etc.,  but  leave  the  stump  of  its  roots  in  the  earth, 

firmly  fixed  there  as  if  bound  with  a  band  of  iron  and  brass. 

From  this  point,  the  description  slides  insensibly  from  the  figure  to 
the  reality — from  the  stump  of  the  tree  to  the  king  himself,  shorn 
of  his  glory.  "  Let  it  be  wet  with  the  dew  of  heaven,"  looks  toward 
the  insane  king,  outcast  from  human  society  and  from  the  homes  of 
men,  taking  his  portion  with  the  beasts  of  the  earth.  His  heart 
changed  from  man's  and  a  beast's  heart  given  to  him,  indicate  the 
utter  loss  for  the  time  of  his  understanding  and  reason.  He  has 
dropped  down  from  the  grade  of  thinking,  reasoning  man  to  that  of 
the  unthinking,  unreasoning  beast.  And  this  is  to  continue  "  until 
seven  times  have  passed  over  him."  The  word  "times"  refers  to 
the  best  known  division  of  time,  the  year.  It  is  (perhaps)  a  defi- 
nite number  for  an  indefinite — the  real  duration  being  possibly 
somewhat  less  than  seven  full  years.  The  manifest  allusion  to  the 
same  event  in  the  fragmentary  record  quoted  in  the  General  Intro- 
duction, speaks  of  it  as  four  years.  This  part  of  the  inscription, 
however,  is  so  imperfect  that  no  considerable  reliance  can  be  re- 
posed upon  it  as  defining  the  exact  duration. In  v.  17,  "This 

matter  is  by  the  decree  of  the  watchers,"  etc.,  the  preposition  "^.y  " 
indicates  rather  the  agents  than  the  author ;  the  agents  by  whom 
the  decree  is  announced  and  executed,  rather  than  the  author  of  it 
from  whom  it  came  and  whose  purpose  it  is  commissioned  to  exe- 
cute. (See  v.  24.)  God  himself  has  ordained  this  infliction  upon 
the  great  king.  He  has  done  it  for  a  special  purpose  here  assigned, 
viz.,  that  the" living  may  know  that  the  Most  High  ruleth  in  the 
kingdoms  of  men,  giving  regal  power  to  whom  he  will,  and  often 
setting  upon  earthly  thrones  the  basest  of  men.  This  last  fact 
should  take  down  the  pride  of  kings,  since  to  be  a  king  is  to  be  one 
of  a  class  which  has  certainly  included  many  of  the  meanest,  wick- 
edest men  that  have  ever  cursed  and  disgraced  our  world. The 

great  purpose  of  this  insanity  brought  upon  Nebuchadnezzar  was 
to  humble  his  pride ;  to  teach  him  impressively  that  the  Most  High 
ruleth  over  all  earthly  kings;  and  to  make  him  and  all  others  feel 
that  reason  is  his  gift,  and  should  be  used  in  grateful  recognition 
of  the  Supreme  Author  of  this  and  all  other  blessings. 

18.  Thia  dream  I  king  Nebuchadnezzar  have  seen.     Now 


DANIEL.— CHAr.  IV.  321 

tliou,  O  Belteshazzar,  declare  the  interpretation  thereof,  for- 
asmuch as  all  the  wise  men  of  my  kingdom  are  not  able'to 
make  known  unto  me  the  interpretation  :  but  thou  art  able ; 
for  the  spirit  of  the  holy  gods  is  in  thee. 

The  king  submits  this  dream  to  Daniel  for  him  to  interpret.  He 
is  confident  Daniel  can  do  it,  because  "the  spirit  of  the  holy  gods 
is  in  him."  This  recognition  of  the  great  doctrine  that  God's 
spiritual  presence  and  power  are  with  his  people,  that  he  can  and 
sometimes  does  reveal  to  them  his  own  exclusively  divine  fore- 
knowledge of  events,  is  a  remarkable  testimony  from  the  greatest 
king  and  the  master-mind  of  the  age. 

19.  Then  Daniel,  (whose  name  ims  Belteshazzar,)  was 
astonished  for  one  hour,  and  his  thoughts  troubled  him.  The 
king  spake  and  said,  Belteshazzar,  let  not  the  dream,  or  the 
interpretation  thereof,  trouble  thee.  Belteshazzar  answered 
and  said.  My  lord,  the  dream  he  to  them  that  hate  thee,  and 
the  interpretation  thereof  to  thine  enemies. 

Daniel  sees  at  once  the  significance  of  this  dream,  and  feels  both 
personally  afilicted  and  sorely  tried.  It  is  plain  that  he  both  re- 
spected and  loved  his  king,  and  hence  felt  this  infliction  upon  him 
as  if  it  were  a  personal  calamity  on  himself  He  might  also  have 
thought  of  the  perils  incident  to  the  kingdom  and  hence  to  the 
people,  consequent  upon  the  insanity  of  the  king.  We  do  not  need 
to  place  among  the  causes  of  his  distress  any  personal  fear  for  his 
own  safety  as  affected  by  his  giving  such  an  interpretation.  We 
should  do  him  injustice  if  we  were  to  assume  that  he  could  be 
capable  of  such  fear.  The  other  causes  of  grief  and  anxiety  arc 
all-sufficient  to  account  for  his  manifest  sorrow  and  perturbation. 

The  king  quickly  observes  that  he  is  troulded  and  be.iis  him  to 

relieve  his  mind  of  all  solicitude.  Daniel  nobly  replies ;  Would  to 
God  the  calamity  it  port^3nds  were  for  those  only  that  hate  thee, 
its  terrible  significance  only  for  thine  enemies ! 

20.  The  tree  that  thou  saw^est,  which  grew,  and  was 
strong,  whose  height  reached  unto  the  heaven,  and  the  sight 
thereof  to  all  the  earth ; 

21.  Whose  leaves  ivere  fair,  and  the  fruit  thereof  much, 
and  in  it  ims  meat  for  all ;  under  which  the  beasts  of  the 
field  dwelt,  and  upon  whose  branches  the  fowls  of  the 
heaven  had  their  habitation; 

22.  It  is  thou,  O  king,  that  art  grown  and  become  strong : 
for  thy  greatness  is  grown,  and  reacheth  unto  heaven,  and 
thy  dominion  to  the  end  of  the  earth. 

23.  And  whereas  the  king  saw  a  watcher  and  a  holy  one 
coming  down  from  heaven,  and  saying,  Hew  the  tree  down, 
and  destroy  it;  yet  leave  the  stump  of  the  roots  thereof  in 


322  DANIEL.— CHAP.  IV. 

the  earth,  even  with  a  baud  of  iron  and  brass,  in  the  tender 
grass  of  the  fiekl ;  and  let  it  be  wet  with  the  dew  of  heaven, 
and  let  his  portion  he  with  the  beasts  of  the  fiekl,  till  seven 
times  pass  over  him  ; 

24.  This  is  the  interpretation,  O  king,  and  this  is  the  de- 
cree of  the  Most  High,  which  is  come  upon  my  lord  the 
king : 

25.  That  they  shall  drive  thee  from  men,  and  thy  dwell- 
ing shall  be  with  the  beasts  of  the  field,  and  they  shall 
make  thee  to  eat  grass  as  oxen,  and  they  shall  wet  thee  with 
the  dew  of  heaven,  and  seven  times  shall  pass  over  thee, 
till  thou  know  that  the  Most  High  ruletli  in  the  kingdom 
of  men,  and  giveth  it  to  whomsoever  he  will. 

26.  And  whereas  they  commanded  to  leave  the  stump  of 
the  tree  roots ;  thy  kingdom  shall  be  sure  unto  thee,  after 
that  thou  shalt  have  known  that  the  heavens  do  rule. 

Here  is  the  interpretation.  The  great  tree  is  no  other  than  the 
groat  king.  This  description  corresponds  in  most  respects  with 
that  given  above  (vs.  10-17)  save  only  that  here  it  is  applied  to  the 
king,  and  remarkably,  the  clause  which  referred  most  plainly  to 
his  insanity,  "Let  his  heart  be  changed  from  man's  and  let  a 
beast's  heart  be  given  him,"  is  here  omitted.  In  verses  25,  26,  the 
agents  referred  to,  '■'•they  shall  drive  thee  from  men;"  '■'■they  shall 
make  thee  eat  grass;"  '''they  shall  wet  thee  with  the  dew  of 
heaven;"  are  apparently  those  angelic  beings  whom  God  employs 
in  his  providential  administration,  controlling  the  activities  of  men 
and  bringing  about  the  course  of  events  in  harmony  with  the  divine 

will. That  tlic  stump  and  roots  are  left  living  and  strong  in  tho. 

earth  denoted  that  his  kingdom  should  still  remain  sure  to  him 
and  should  return  to  his  hand  after  he  should  have  fully  seen  and 
heartily  admitted  that  the  God  of  heaven  (for  brevity's  sake  here 

"the  heavens")  does  rule. This  preservation  of  the  kingdom  to 

him  by  preventing  any  successor  from  ol)truding  himself  upon  the 
throne,  may,  not  improbably,  have  been  due  to  this  known  predic- 
tion and  to  Daniel's  personal  influence.  Daniel  was  in  a  position 
to  have  almost  unlimited  control  in  this  thing. 

27.  Wherefore,  O  king,  let  my  counsel  be  acceptable  unto 
thee,  and  break  off  thy  sins  by  righteousness,  and  thine 
iniquities  by  shewing  mercy  to  the  poor  ;  if  it  may  be  a 
lengthening  of  thy  tranquillity. 

As  the  time  of  this  calamity  was  not  fixed,  it  might  be  postjDoned 
by  the  king's  repentance;  indeed  it  might  have  been  altogether 
prevented  if  he  had  become  truly  penitent.  Why  not  as  really  as 
the  destruction  of  Nineveh  foretold  by  Jonah,  the  precise  date  of 
which  moreover  was  set  to  ninety  days,     llence  the  way  is  open 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  IV.  323 

for  Daniel  to  exhort  his  sovereign  in  all  fidelity  and  love  to  "  break 
off  his  sins  by  righteousness,  and  his  iniquities  by  showing  mercy 
to  the  poor,"  since  thus  he  might,  nay  would,  prolong  this  present 

peace  and  prosperity. This  noble  example  of  manly  and  Christian 

fidelity  to  his  sovereign  is  worthy  of  all  admiration,  and  of  course 
imitatio7i.  Prompted  by  such  manifest  love  and  in  manner  so  re- 
spectful to  the  king,  and  yet  with  so  much  personal  dignity,  it  must 
have  fallen  upon  the  king's  mind  with  great  force. The  sin  spe- 
cially indicated  here,  unrighteous  oppression  of  the  poor,  looks  very 
probably  toward  the  terrible  exactions  of  labor  imposed  upon  his 
defenseless  subjects  (some  of  them  captives  of  war)  in  those  im- 
mense public  works  w^iich  were  in  the  eyes  of  men,  the  glory  of 
his  reign.  The  eye  of  man,  dazzled  with  so  much  architectural 
splendor,  commonly  fails  to  look  down  through  to  the  crushed  l3odies 
and  broken  hearts,  and  to  the  hopeless,  never-lifted  pressure  of  woo 
which  such  a  mass  of  coerced  labor  always  signifies.  Human  eyes 
rarely  see  it;  still  more  rarely  make  any  account  of  it;  but  the  Great 
Father  sees  it  and  can  never  fail  to  take  it  into  most  solemn  account. 

28.  All  this  came  upon  the  king  Nebuchadnezzar. 

29.  At  the  end  of  twelve  months  he  walked  in  the  j^al- 
ace  of  the  kingdom  of  Babylon. 

30.  The  king  spake,  and  said,  Is  not  this  great  Babylon, 
that  I  have  built  for  the  house  of  the  kingdom  by  the 
might  of  my  pow^er,  and  for  the  honor  of  my  majesty  ? 

31.  While  the  w^ord  ivas  in  the  king's  mouth,  there  fell  a 
voice  from  heaven,  saying,  O  king  Nebuchadnezzar,  to  thee 
it  is  spoken ;  The  kingdom  is  departed  from  thee. 

32.  And  they  shall  drive  thee  from  men,  and  thy  dwell- 
ing shall  he  with  the  beasts  of  the  field :  they  shall  make 
thee  to  Qat  grass  as  oxen,  and  seven  times  shall  pass  over 
thee,  until  thou  knowest  that  the  Most  High  ruleth  in  the 
kingdom  of  men,  and  giveth  it  to  whomsoever  he  will. 

33.  The  same  hour  Avas  the  thing  fulfilled  upon  Nebu- 
chadnezzar:  and  he  w^as  driven  from  men, -and  did  eat  grass 
as  oxen,  and  his  body  was  wet  with  the  dew  of  heaven,  till 
his  hairs  were  grown  like  eagles'  feathers,  and  his  nails  like 
birds'  claws. 

It  may  be  supposed  that  Daniel's  faithful  exhortation  had  some 
good  moral  influonco  on  the  king  for  a  season.  The  impending 
calamity  was  deferred  twelve  months.  But  his  goodness  was  as 
the  morning  cloud.  When  his  pride  resumed  its  sway  over  his 
heart,  just  while  he  was  walking  on  the  flat  roof  of  his  lofty  pal- 
ace, overlooking  the  splendor  of  that  most  splendid  city,  and  say- 
ing, "  Is  not  this  great  Babylon  that  I  have  built  for  the  house  of 
the  kingdom  by  the  might  of  my  power  and  for  the  honor  of  my 
majesty" — at  that  moment  there  came  another  voice;  it  fell  from 


824  DANIEL.— CUAP.  IV. 

heaven:  it  made  its  pointed  address  to  Chaldca's  proud  king  by 
name,    and   said,    "  The   kingdom  is   departed   from  thee !  ^'     The 

dream  is  to  be  fulfilled !     It  Avas ! That  the  execution  of  this 

long  impending  decree  should  wait  to  smite  the  king  at  last  in  pre- 
cisely this  juncture  was  of  set  divine  purpose,  to  indicate  the  more 
unmistakaljly  the  sin  for  which  this  was  the  destined  scourge.  Ho 
God  is  often  wont  to  make  the  connection  between  the  sin  and  the 
infliction  of  chastisement  or  judgment  for  it,  so  palpable  that  there 
shall  need  be  no  mistake  in  tracing  it  out. 

34.  And  at  the  end  of  the  days  I  Nebuchadnezzar  lifted 
up  mine  eyes  unto  heaven,  and  mine  understanding  returned 
unto  me,  and  I  blessed  the  Most  High,  and  I  praised  and 
honored  him  that  liveth  forever,  whose  dominion  is  an 
everlasting  dominion,  and  his  kingdom  is  from  generation 
to  generation : 

85.  And  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth  are  reputed  as 
nothing :  and  he  doeth  according  to  his  will  in  the  army 
of  heaven,  and  among  the  inhal3itants  of  the  earth :  and 
none  can  stay  his  hand,  or  say  unto  him,  What  doest  thou? 

36.  At  the  same  time  my  reason  returned  unto  me ;  and 
for  the  glory  of  my  kingdom,  mine  honor  and  brightness 
returned  unto  me :  and  my  counsellors  and  my  lords  sought 
unto  me;  and  I  was  established  in  my  kingdom,  and  ex- 
cellent majesty  was  added  unto  me. 

37.  Now  I  Nebuchadnezzar  praise  and  extol  and  honor  the 
King  of  heaven,  all  whose  works  are  truth,  and  his  ways 
judgment:  and  those  that  walk  in  pride  he  is  able  to  abase. 

His  understanding  seems  now  to  return  to  him  as  a  new-born 
gift,  fresh  from  the  («od  of  heaven.  With  the  utmost  propriety  he 
makes  his  first  use  of  it  in  this  devout  recognition  of  the  glory  and 
majesty,  the  justice  and  righteousness  too,  of  the  Most  High  God, 
It  is  a  sublime  testimony.  In  thought  most  appropriate ;  in  choice 
of  terms  unexceptionable;  in  its  whole  expression  majestic  and  elo- 
quent, it  is  one  of  the  grandest  passages  in  English  literature.  If 
we  may  suppose  it  to  have  gone  forth  from  the  throne  of  the  re- 
stored monarch  to  the  millions  of  his  people  and  to  foreign  lands 
also,  it  must  have  produced  a  profound  sensation.  Its  influence 
may  have  been  mostly  evanescent;  yet  it  was  for  the  time  a  grand 
testimony  to  the  glory  and  majesty  of  the  one  Supreme  God,  and 
a  witness  against  the  folly  of  paying  even  the  least  regard  to  the 

gods  of  the  heathen. How  long  or  how  deeply  it  alFocted  the 

heart  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  we  have  no  positive  data  for  determining. 
The  sacred  record  leaves  him  here.  It  would  be  grateful  to  every 
feeling  of  the  heart  to  know  that  this  king  became  under  such  in- 
fluences a  humble  child  and  faithful  servant  of  that  Great  God  to 
whose  gloricB  he  bears  witness  in  strains  so  sublime.     But  we  lack 


DANIEL.— CHAr.  V.  325 

the  evidence  to  justify  such  a  belief.  Something  more  decisive  to 
this  effect  mi^ht  be  expected  in  the  sacred  record  if  such  had  been 
the  fact.  The  fi-agmentary  record  that  has  come  down  to  our 
times  on  "the  Standard  Inscription"  .of  this  king  (quoted  in  the 
General  Introduction,  p.  284)  shuts  us  up  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
temptations  of  royalty  were  too  strong  for^his  moral  nature  to  over- 
come. Great  men,  as  well  as  men  not  great,  may  come  very  near 
the  gate  of  heaven's  kingdom,  and  yet  never  enter  therein.  When 
King  Herod  heard  John  Baptist,  "  he  did  many  things  and  heard 
him  gladly;"  but  alas !  Herod  never  turned  heartily  from  all  his  sins 
to  God.  His  record  stands,  like  this  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  a  solemn 
admonition  against  coming  short  of  doing  one's  whole  duty  when 
God  reveals  it  plainly,  and  conscience  presses  its  demand,  and  the 

Divine  Spirit  comes  near  for  one  last  effort  to  save  the  soul. 

The  Lord  had  great  purposes  to  answer  by  this  Chaldean  king,  and 
he  accomplished  those  purposes,  even  though  that  king  would  not 
bow  his  whole  heart  to  truth  and  to  God.  He  made  all  that  king's 
frailties  as  well  as  his  nobler  qualities  of  character  subserve  his  own 
glory  and  praise;  drew  from  him  reiterated  testimonials  to  the 
majesty,  justice  and  glory  of  Jehovah,  and  gave  them  to  the  kings 
and  princes  of  all  the  earth  to  whom  this  revelation  should  ever 
come,  for  their  admonition  and  instruction.  Here  we  leave  this 
greatest  and  perhaps  best  of  all  the  sovereigns  of  the  Chaldean 
empire. 


CHAPTER  V. 


This  chapter  presents  Belshazzar  in  his  revelries  and  blasphemy; 
the  awful  hand  that  wrote  his  doom  upon  the  palace-wall ;  the  utter 
failure  of  his  astrologers  to  read  and  interpret  the  writing;  how 
Daniel  read  and  interpreted,  and  how  it  was  fulfilled  in  that  event- 
ful night. 

1.  Belshazzar  the  king  made  a  great  feast  to  a  thousand 
of  his  lords,  and  drank  wine  before  the  thousand. 

2.  Belshazzar,  while  he  tasted  the  wine,  commanded  to 
bring  the  gold  and  silver  vessels  which  his  father  Nebu- 
chadnezzar had  taken  out  of  the  temple  which  ^vas  in  Jeru- 
salem ;  that  the  king,  and  his  princes,  his  wives,  and  his 
concubines,  might  drink  therein. 

3.  Then  they  brought  the  golden  vessels  that  were  taken 
out  of  the  temple  of  the  house  of  God  which  was  at  Jeru- 
salem ;  and  the  king,  and  his  princes,  his  wives,  and  his 
concubines,  drank  in  them. 

4.  They  drank  wine,  and  praised  the  gods  of  gold,  and 
of  silver,  of  brass,  of  iron,  of  wood,  and  of  stone. 


326  DANIEL.— CHAP.  V. 

On  the  question,  Who  was  Belsliazzar?  sec  the  general  introduc- 
tion to  Daniel  (page  2SG). Nebuchadnezzar  is  supposed  to  have 

been  the  grandfather  of  lielshazzar  on  his  mother's  side.  This  lati- 
tude in  the  use  of  the  word  "father"  was  not  uncommon  with  the 

Hebrews. As  tlic  city  was  already  besieged,  and  the  real  king 

Nabonned  had  gone  into  the  field  against  the  armies  of  the  Medes  and 
Persians  under  Cyrus,  the  sense  of  security  which  this  feast  im- 
plied must  be  accounted  for  by  their  confidence  in  the  assumed 
strength  of  the  city.  Plainly  it  was  supposed  to  be  absolutely  im- 
pregnable.  It  may  be  added   that  God  had  given  up  the  king 

and  his  princes  to  a  blind  infatuation,  of  such  sort  as  usually  pre- 
cedes destruction. Drinking  wine  from  the  vessels  taken  out  of 

Jehovah's  temple  in  Jerusalem  was  intended  as  an  insult  to  his 
majesty.  In  the  current  notions  of  the  age,  each  nation's  gods  were 
its  patrons  and  defenders,  so  that  victory  over  a  nation  was  a  tri- 
umph over  its  gods.  Chaldea,  in  the  person  of  Belshazzar  and  his 
lords,  is  now  exulting  over  Jehovah  as  unable  to  protect  his  people 
against  the  superior  power  of  their  idols.  As  they  drank,  "  they 
praised  the  gods  of  gold  and  of  silver,"  as  being  mightier  than  the 
God  of  the  Hebrew  people.  Hence  the  time  had  fully  come  for  the 
Lord  to  vindicate  his  own  glory  and  crush  out  this  proud  and  blas- 
phemous dynasty. 

5.  In  the  same  hour  came  forth  fingers  of  a  man's  hand, 
and  wrote  over  against  the  candlestick  upon  the  plaster  of 
the  wall  of  the  king's  palace :  and  the  king  saw  the  part  of 
the  hand  that  wrote. 

6.  Then  the  king's  countenance  was  changed,  and  his 
thoughts  troubled  hijn,  so  that  the  joints  of  his  loins  were 
loosed,  and  his  knees  smote  one  against  another. 

The  precise  location  of  this  writing  on  the  wall  "  over  against  the 
candlestick,"  would  make  it  very  conspicuous  amid  the  revelries  of 

those  ban((ueting  halls. It  is  an  appalling  scene  when  a  sinning 

mortal  knows  that  the  Great  (lod  has  come  to  meet  him  in  the  very 
midst  of  his  sins  !  IJclshazzar  might  well  stand  aghast  to  find  him- 
self thus  confronted  face  to  ftice  with  the  dread  Jehovah  whom  he 
is  purposely  insulting!  He  has  a  sense  of  a  present  Power,  more 
than  human,  in  that  strange  haiuL^  writing  unknown  words  on  his 
palace-wall,  and  a  guilty  conscience  helps  him  to  forecast  some 
fearful  doom !  The  brightness  of  his  countenance  is  gone  (so  the 
original  imports);  his  mind  is  fearfully  agitated;   his  knees  smite 

against  each  other. How  changed  the  scene  from  the  glee  of  his 

blasphemous  revelry  to  this  paleness  of  cheek,  convulsion  of  frame, 
remorse  of  conscience,  and  dread  foreboding  of  doom !  Many  a 
sinner  has  had  a  like  experience,  and  other  thousands  must  have  it! 

7.  The  king  cried  aloud  to  bring  in  the  astrologers,  the 
Chaldeans,  and  the  soothsayers.  And  the  king  spake  and 
said  to  the  wise  men  of  Babylon,  Wlrosoevcr  shall  read  this 


DANIEL.— CHAr.  V.  327 

writing,  and  shew  me  the  interpretation  thereof,  shall  be 
clothed  with  scarlet,  and  have  a  chain  of  gold  about  his 
neck,  and  be  the  third  ruler  in  the  kingdom. 

8.  Then  came  in  all  the  king's  wise  men :  but  they  could 
not  read  the  writing,  nor  make  known  to  the  king  the  inter- 
pretation thereof. 

9.  Then  was  king  Belshazzar  greatly  troubled,  and  his 
countenance  was  changed  in  him,  and  his  lords  were  aston- 
ished. 

His  first  resort  is  to  his  professional  expounders  of  all  mysterious 
thinc^s.  He  summons  them  to  his  aid,  and  presses  them,  by  the 
most  winning  promises,  to  expound  this  mysterious  handwriting. 
They  fail  him  utterly,  and  he  is  only  the  more  alarmed.  • 

10.  Noio  the  queen,  by  reason  of  the  words  of  the  king 
and  his  lords,  came  into  the  banquet-house :  and  the  queen 
spake  and  said,  O  king,  live  forever :  let  not  thy  thoughts 
trouble  thee,  nor  let  thy  countenance  be  changed: 

11.  There  is  a  man  in  thy  kingdom,  in  whom  is  the 
spirit  of  the  holy  gods ;  and  in  the  days  of  thy  father, 
light  and  understanding  and  wisdom,  like  the  wisdom  of 
the  gods,  was  found  in  him;  whom  the  king  ISTebuchadnez- 
zar  thy  father,  the  king,  I  say,  thy  father,  made  master  of 
the  magicians,  astrologers,  Chaldeans,  and  soothsayers; 

12.  Forasmuch  as  an  excellent  spirit,  and  knowledge, 
and  understanding,  interpreting  of  dreams,  and  shewing 
of  hard  sentences,  and  dissolving  of  doubts,  were  found  in 
the  same  Daniel,  whom  the  king  named  Belteshazzar :  now 
let  Daniel  be  called,  and  he  will  shew  the  interpretation. 

The  "queen"  in  this  passage  is  the  queen-mother,  as  may  be  in- 
ferred from  the  fact  that  the  king's  wives  and  concubines  are  with 
him  in  his  carousals  while  this  woman  was  not ;  and  al^o  from  her 
intimate  acquaintance  with  Daniel  and  with  the  incidents  of  Ne- 
buchadnezzar's life.  She  was  probably  the  daughter  of  Nebuchad- 
nezzar and  the  mother  of  Belshazzar. 

13.  Then  was  Daniel  brought  in  before  the  king.  And 
the  king  spake  and  said  unto  Daniel,  Art  thou  that  Dan- 
iel, which  art  of  the  children  of  the  captivity  of  Judah, 
whom  the  king  my  father  brought  out  of  Jewry? 

14.  I  have  even  heard  of  thee,  that  the  spirit  of  the  gods 
is  in  thee,  and  that  light  and  .understanding  and  excellent 
wisdom  is  found  in  thee. 

15.  And  now  the  wise  men,  the  astrologers,  have  been 
brought  in  before  me,  that  they  should  read  this  writing, 


328  DANIEL.— CHAP.  V. 

and  make  known  unto  me  the  interpretation  thereof;  but 
they  could  not  shew  the  interpretation  of  the  thing : 

16.  And  I  have  heard  of  thee,  that  thou  canst  make  in- 
terpretations, and  dissolve  doubts :  now  if  thou  canst  read 
the  writing,  and  make  known  to  me  the  interpretation 
thereof,  thou  shalt  be  clothed  with  scarlet,  and  have  a 
chain  of  gold  about  thy  neck,  and  shalt  be  the  third  ruler 
in  the  kingdom. 

The  sacred  record  throws  no  light  on  the  history  of  Daniel  dur- 
\n<^  the  period  since  the  death  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  The  fact  that 
Belshazzar  knows  him  only  by  report  and  tradition  implies  that  he 
had  retired  from  public  office  some  years  before ;  very  probably  at 
the  death  of  Nebuchadnezzar.  Evil-Merodach,  his  son  and  suc- 
cessor, changed  the  policy  of  his  father  in  some  respects  certainly  ; 
e.  g.^  in  taking  Jehoiachin  from  prison  to  his  favor  and  table.  (See 
2  Kings  25:  27-30,  and  Jer.  52:  31-34.)  Berosus  says  of  him, 
"  This  man,  having  used  his  authority  in  a  lawless  and  dissolute 
manner,  was  slain  by  conspirators."  He  reigned  but  two  years. 
ISuch  revolutions  in  government  would  naturally  have  the  effect 
of  displacing  Daniel. 

17.  Then  Daniel  answered  and  said  before  the  king,  Let 
thy  gifts  be  to  thyself,  and  give  thy  rewards  to  another; 
yet  I  will  read  the  writing  unto  the  king,  and  make  known 
to  him  the  interpretation. 

So  far  from  having  any  sympathy  with  Belshazzar,  Daniel  could 
feel  only  abhorrence  and  detestation  of  his  revelry  and  blasphe- 
mous insult  of  Jehovah.  Hence  he  will  not  look  at  the  king's 
promised  rewards,  ))ut  repels  them  with  disdain.  He  seems  to  have 
had  much  sincere  respect  for  Nebuchadnezzar,  but  not  the  least 
for  his  degenerate  grandson.  Yet  for  his  satisfaction,  and,  withal, 
his  rebuke,  he  will  read  the  writing  and  give  the  interpretation. 

18.  O  tjiou  king,  the  most  high  God  gave  Nebuchanez- 
zar  thy  father  a  kingdom,  and  majesty,  and  glory,  and 
honor : 

19.  And  for  the  majesty  that  he  gave  him,  all  peoj^le, 
nations,  and  languages,  trcnibled  and  feared  before  him: 
whom  he  would  he  slew ;  and  whom  he  would  he  kept 
alive ;  and  whom  he  would  he  set  up ;  and  whom  he  would 
he  put  down. 

20.  But  when  his  heart  was  lifted  up,  and  his  mind 
hardened  in  pride,  he  w^as  deposed  from  his  kingly  throne, 
and  they  took  his  glory  from  him  : 

21.  And  he  was  driven  from  the  sons  of  men ;  and  his 
heart  was  made  like  the  beasts,  and  his  dwelling  ims  with 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  V.  329 

the  wild  asses:,  they  fed  him  with  grass  like  oxen,  and  his 
body  was  wet  with  the  dew  of  heaven ;  till  he  knew  that 
the  most  high  God  ruled  in  the  kingdom  of  men,  and  that 
he  appointeth  over  it  whomsoever  he  will. 

The  language  which  describes  the  sin  of  Nebuchadnezzar  is 
specially  pertinent  and  forcible.  "  When  his  heart  was  lifted  up 
and  his  mind  hardened  in  pride,"  etc.  The  terrible  influence  of 
power  in  the  hands  of  depraved  men,  reacting  on  the  heart,  has 
rarely  been  portrayed  more  justly.  The  perpetual  incense  of  flat- 
tery, coupled  with  the  daily  experience  of  being  dependent  on  no 
one  and  of  having  every  one  dependent  on  himself,  tempts  an  ab- 
solute monarch  to  feel  Ifimsclf  almost  a  god.  Under  such  influ- 
ences, the  moral  sensibilities  become  fearfully  hardened  against 
all  sense  of  obligation  whether  to  God  or  to  man.  When  any  man 
has  reached  this  moral  state,  what  can  remain  for  him  but  a  fall? 
It  is  fully  time  for  Almighty  God  to  hurl  such  a  hardened  sinner 

down!     Such  "pride  goeth  before  destruction." In  the  clause 

which  states  that  his  insanity  continued  ^^iill  he  hiew  that  the 
Most  High  rules  in  the  kingdoms  of  men,  and  appoints  to  this 
power  whomsoever  he  will,"  the  word  "knew"  should  be  taken  in 
the  sense  of  freely  recognizing  and  of  adjusting  himself  morally 
to  this  knowledge,  rather  than  in  the  closely  intellectual  sense  of 
having  then  first  obtained  this  knowledge.  For,  his  sin  did  not 
lie  in  not  knowing  but  in  not  duly  regarding,  and  in  not  rightly 
using  the  knowledge  he  actually  had.  "To  him  that  knoweth  to 
do  good  and  doetli  it  not,  to  him  it  is  sin." 

22.  And  thou  his  son,  O  Belshazzar,  hast  not  humbled 
thy  heart,  though  thou  kneAvest  all  this ; 

23.  But  hast  lifted  up  thyself  against  the  Lord  of  heaven; 
and  they  have  brought  the  vessels  of  his  house  before  thee, 
and  thou,  and  thy  lords,  thy  ivives,  and  thy  concubines, 
have  drunk  wine  in  them ;  and  thou  hast  praised  the  gods 
of  silver,  and  gold,  of  brass,  iron,  wood,  and  stone,  which 
see  not,  nor  hear,  nor  know :  and  the  God  in  wdiose  hand 
thy  breath  is,  and  whose  are  all  thy  ways,  hast  thou  not 
glorified. 

Having  set  before  this  recreant  son  the  dealings  of  the  Great 
God  with  his  father  which  the  king  had  known  and  ought  to  have 
regarded,  Daniel  now  turns  pointedly  to  him  and  sets  his  sins  in 
order  before  his  eyes  in  the  plainest  style  of  honest  and  fearless 
rebuke.  He  charges  home  upon  his  conscience  his  pride,  although 
he  had  well  knoAvn  how  God  afflicted  his  father  for  this  very  sin; 
also,  his  defiant  bearing  toward  the  God  of  heaven  in  the  matter 
of  desecrating  the  sacred  vessels  of  his  temple  and  honoring  tho 
gods  of  gold,  "which  see  not,  nor  hear,  nor  know,"  adding,  with 
unsurpassed  fitness  and  force — "And  the  God  in  whose  hand  thy 


330  DANIEL.— CHAP.  V. 

breath  is  and  whose  are  all  thy  ways,  hast  thou  not  glorified." 

The  clause,  "  whose  are  all  thy  ways,"  follows  in  the  same  line  of 
thought  with  the  preceding,  "in  whose  hand  thy  breath  is,"  and 
affirms  that  all  his  goings,  all  that  made  up  his  life  and  destiny, 
were  dependent  on  God — a  truth  which  this  king  had  most  wickedly 
ignored. Not  to  glorify,  is  here  to  be  taken  with  a  strong  em- 
phasis on  the  negative,  giving  the  clause  the  opposite  sense ;  whom 
thou  hast  contemned  and  despised.  Precisely  this  the  king  was 
then  doing.    This  usage  of  the  negative  is  by  no  means  uncommon. 

24.  Then  was  the  part  of  the  hand  sent  from  him ;  and 
this  writing  was  written. 

25.  And  this  is  the  writing,  that  Avas  written;  MENE, 
MENE,  TEKEL,  UPHARSIN. 

26.  This  is  the  interpretation  of  the  thing:  MENE;  God 
hath  numbered  thy  kingdom  and  finished  it. 

27.  TEKEL ;  Thou  art  w^eighed  in  the  balances,  and  art 
found  wanting. 

28.  PERES ;  Thy  kingdom  is  divided,  and  given  to  the 
Medes  and  Persians. 

"  Then,"  is  not  here  a  particle  of  time,  but  of  consequence.  Con- 
sequently^ because  of  this  insult  offered  by  the  king  to  the  great  God, 
was  that  part  of  a  hand  sent  forth  from  him  {i.  c,  from  God)  which 
wrote  upon  the  wall  (v.  5).  The  wi'iting  was  done  some  consider- 
able time  before  Daniel  uttered  these  AYords,  interpreting  the  Avriting 

and  announcing  to  the  king    his   righteous  doom. The  literal 

rendering  of  the  words  written  on  the  wall  is,  ^'"Numbered ;  7mm- 
bcrcd;  weighed;  and  divided.''  Remarkably  the  last  word  is  plural 
as  it  stands  in  v.  25,  but  appears  in  its  singular  form  in  v.  28.  It 
is  not  clear  that  any  special  sense  attaches  to  the  plural.  If  so,  it 
should  have  been  in  the  plural  when  repeated  for  the  purpose  of 

being   interpreted. The   English  reader  would  not  readily  see 

that  Upharsin  is  nearly  identical  with  Peres.  It  is  so,  however. 
The  letter  U  translates  the  Chaldee  prefix  for  and^  which,  dropped 
off,  leaves  Pharsiri.  Then  "m"  is  the  plural  termination,  and  the 
rest  of  the  difference  is  due  to  the  change  of  vowels  consequent 
upon  this  plural  termination.     Pharsin  is  simply  the  plural  form  of 

Peres. "Mcne"  is  repeated,  apparently  for  the  sake  of  intensity. 

The  days  of  thy  kingdom  arc  certainly  and  precisely  numbered,  and 

having  now  all  past,  the  end  has  come. Tekcl,  the  first  letter 

being  the  character  for  jf/i,  which  is  used  in  Chaldee  for  the  He- 
brcAV  sh,  is  identical  with  shekel,  which  as  a  noun  is  a  well  known 
standard  weight;  and  as  a  verb,  means  to  weigh.  In  the  moral 
sense,  weighing  puts  one  to  the  test,  tries  him  by  the  divine  standv 
ard.  So  Job  said  (chap.  31:  G),  "Let  me  be  weighed  in  an  even 
baliuice  that  God  may  know  mine  integrity."  God  had  thrown  Bel- 
sliazzar  upon  his  great  scales  of  justice  a)id  righteousness  and  found 
him  utterly   wanting,     lie  was   not  fit  j;o   reign  longer. The 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  V.  331 

"kingdom  divided  and  given  to  the  Medes  and  Persians"  predicted 
one  of  the  great  historic  facts  of  the  age — the  fall  of  Babylon,  and 
the  subversion  of  the  Chaldean  dynasty.  It  fell  before  Cyrus,  at 
the  head  of  the  combined  armies  of  the  Medes  and  Persians.  Ile- 
rodotus  and  Xenophon,  the  great  Greek  historians  of  their  time, 
have  left  detailed  accounts  of  this  transaction.  Cyrus  invested  the 
city,  turned  the  current  of  the  Euphrates,  and  marched  his  army 

into  the  city  by  way  of  the  river-channel. Jeremiah  had  foretold 

this  event  with  extraordinary  minuteness  (chaps.  50  and  51),  giving, 
among  many  other  things,  the  names  of  their  conquerors;  "Prepare 
against  her  the  nations,  the  kings  of  the  Medes"  (chap.  51 :  28);  the 
drying  up  of  her  waters  (51 :  36) ;  and  the  drunken  condition  of  her 
princes  at  the  time  (chap.  51 :  39,  57).  "In  their  heat,  I  will  make 
their  feasts  and  I  will  make  T;hem  drunken,  that  they  may  rejoice, 
and  sleep'  a  perpetual  sleep  and  not  wake,  saith  the  Lord.^' 

29.  Then  commanded  Belshazzar  and  tliey  clothed  Daniel 
with  scarlet,  and  put  a  chain  of  gold  about  his  neck,  and 
made  a  proclamation  concerning  him,  that  he  should  be  the 
third  ruler  in  the  kingdom. 

Belshazzar  lived  only  long  enough  to  fulfill  this  promise  and  give 
Daniel  these  honors.  But  Daniel  cared  little  for  honors  under  such 
a  monarch  at  any  time,  and  least  of  all,  now,  in  these  last  hours  of 
the  kingdom.  These  circumstances  however  may  have  been  his 
stepping-stone  to  an  equally  high  position  under  the  next  dynasty, 
and  this  seems  to  have  been  a  part  of  the  divine  purpose.  Re- 
markably, under  God's  all-wise  plans,  single  events  have  multiform, 
results — bearings  that  ramify  outward  indefinitely. 

The  reader  is  referred  to  the  introduction  for  an  attempt  to  har- 
monize the  statements  of  Berosus  respecting  the  last  king  of  Babylon 
with  what  is  said  here  of  Belshazzar.  I  can  not  say  it  is  entirely 
satisfactory,  the  main  difficulty  being  that  Belshazzar  appears  in 
the  Bible  record  as  sole  king,  and  not  merely  as  crown  prince  with 
the  title  of  king.  Yet  this  appearance  is  not  such  as  to  exclude 
the  possibility  of  the  facts  stated  by  that  ancient  and  standard 
historian. 

30.  In  that  niglit  was  Belshazzar  the  king  of  the  Chaldeans 
slain. 

31.  And  Darius  the  Median  took  the  kingdom,  being  about 
threescore  and  two  years  old. 

The  effort  to  identify  this  Darius  the  Mede  with  certainty  in  the 
various  records  of  profime  history  has  been  thus  fiir  unsuccessful. 
George  Rawlinson  remarks:  "There  still  remains  one  historical  diffi- 
culty in  the  book  of  Daniel  which  modern  research  has  not  yet 
solved,  but  of  which  Time,  the  Great  Discoverer,  will,  perhaps,  one 
day  bring  the  solution.  At  present  we  can  only  indulge  conjectures 
concerning  Darius  tho  Mede,"  etc. Tho  opinions  of  critics  have 


332  DANIEL.~CHAP.  VI. 

been  divided  between  (1.)  Astyages,  the  grandfather  of  Cyrus;  (2.) 
Cyaxares,  a  supposed  son  of  this  Astyages;  and  (;>.)  Some  deputy 
bearing  this  name,  unknown  to  profane  history,  whom  Cyrus  put  in 
charge  over  Babylonia.  That  he  ^'^  took  the  kingdom"  in  the  sense 
of  being  a  deputy  and  not  a  king  in  his  own  right,  is  involved  in 
the  usage  of  the  verb.  In  chap.  2:  6,  it  is  used  for  receiving  great 
gifts;  and  in  chap.  7:  18,  of  the  saints  of  the  Most  High  receiving 
the  kingdom."     A  renewed  mention  of  Darius  (chap.  9:1)  speaks 

of  him  as  "made  king  over  the  realm  of  the  Chaldeans." The 

difficulties  in  identifying  this  Darius  lie  mainly  if  not  entirely  with 
the  profane  historians  themselves. 


CHAPTER   VI. 


This  chapter  treats  of  the  administration  of  Darius.  Daniel  is 
promoted  to  the  highest  position  next  to  the  king;  the  other  presi- 
dents and  all  the  princes,  through  en\y,  plot  his  destruction  by  pro- 
curing a  law  making  it  a  capital  crime  to  offer  any  petition  to  any 
god  or  man,  save  unto  the  king,  for  thirty  days  :  Daniel  continues 
to  pray  as  aforetime;  is  therefore  cast  into  the  lion's  den,  but 
comes  forth  unharmed ;  v^hereupon  the  king  by  public  decree  calls 
on  all  men  to  fear  the  God  of  Daniel. 

1.  It  pleased  Darius  to  set  over  the  kingdom  a  hundred 
and  twenty  princes,  which  should  be  over  the  whole  king- 
dom; 

2.  And  over  these  three  presidents ;  of  whom  Daniel  was 
first:  that  the  princes  might  give  accounts  unto  them,  and 
the  king  should  have  no  damage. 

The  kingdom  as  here  spoken  of  is  Babylonia  proper,  and  not  the 
whole  of  that  vast  realm,  embracing  several  distinct  nationalities, 
which  was  brought  under  the  sway  of  Nebudchadnczzar.  Darius 
himself  was  a  sort  of  deputy  or  viceroy  under  Cyrus,  and  Babylonia 
was  virtually  a  province  in  the  great  j\ledo-Persian  empire.  These 
verses  show  how  the  executive  department  of  the  government  was 
organized. 

3.  Then  this  Daniel  was  preferred  above  the  presidents 
and  princes,  because  an  excellent  spirit  tvas  in  him ;  and  the 
king  thought  to  set  him  o'ver  the  whole  realm. 

Daniel  was  prc'cminent,  not  only  in  wisdom  and  executive  abil- 
ity, but  in  his  disinterested  devotion  to  the  public  weal.  While  the 
other  high  officers,  were  selfish  and  corrupt  men  (as  is  usual),  the 
king  could  not  but  see  that  Daniel  was  thoroughly  a  good  man, 
devoted  to  the  welfare  of  his  country,  and  unsellislily  true  to  the 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  VI.  333 

interests  of  his  king.  Hence  the  king  put  him  above  all  his  other 
officers,  and  had  even  thought  to  intrust  the  v^hole  executive  man- 
agement of  the  kingdom  in.  his  hands,  i  e.,  by  making  him  sole 
president  instead  of  being  simply  the  head  man  of  the  three. 

4.  Then  the  presidents  and  princes  sought  to  find  occa- 
sion against  Daniel  concerning  the  kingdom;  but  they 
could  find  none  occasion  nor  fault ;  forasmuch  as  he  ivas  faith- 
ful, neither  was  there  any  error  or  fault  found  in  him. 

Such  a  model  of  excellence,  so  far  surpassing  and  so  uncomfort- 
ably eclipsing  themselves,  was  keenly  cutting  to  those  corrupt  offi- 
cers, and  aroused  their  bitterest  hostility.  So  they  sought  to  find 
some  fault  in.  his  official  life,  but  they  sought  there  in  vain.  He 
was  both  wise  and  faithful,  and  hence  left  them  no  ground  of  accu- 
sation there. 

5.  Then  said  these  men,  We  shall  not  find  any  occasion 
against  this  Daniel,  except  we  find  it  concerning  the  law  of 
his  God. 

Abandoning  all  hope  of  finding  any  occasion  even  for  slander 
against  Daniel  in  the  line  of  his  official  conduct,  they  set  them- 
selves to  make  an  occasion  in  the  line  of  his  religion.  This  is 
avowedly  their  only  hope.  They  know  he  is  not  an  idolator,  but 
is  a  conscientious  worshiper  of  the  true  God.  They  know  him  to 
be  a  praying  man. 

6.  Then  these  presidents  and  princes  a'ssembled  together 
to  the  king,  and  said  thus  unto  him.  King  Darius,  live  for- 
ever. 

7.  All  the  presidents  of  the  kingdom,  the  governors  and 
the  23rinces,  the  counsellors  and  the  captains,  have  consulted 
together  to  establish  a  royal  statute,  and  to  make  a  firm 
decree,  that  whosoever  shall  ask  a  petition  of  any  God  or 
man  for  thirty  days,  save  of  thee,  O  king,  he  shall  be  cast 
into  the  den  of  lions. 

8.  Now,  O  king,  establish  the  decree,  and  sign  the  writing, 
that  it  be  not  changed,  according  to  the  law  of  the  Medes 
and  Persians,  which  alteretli  not. 

9.  AVherefore  king  Darius  signed  the  writing  and  the 
decree. 

With  Satanic  cunning,  they  shaped  this  proposed  law  to  take 
with  the  king  by  a  bait  for  his  low  vanity,  and  to  entrap  Daniel 
through  his  known  decision  and  firmness  in  the  worship  of  his  God. 
It  was  the  best  compliment  they  could  pay  to  Daniel  that  they  assumed 
so  confidently  that  ho  would  pray  to  God  none  the  less  for  this  mon- 
strous law.     It  was  the  keenest  reproach  to  their  king  that  they 


334  DANIEL.— CHAP.  VI. 

should  anticipate  his  ready  assent  to  such  a  law  under  the  impulses 
of  his  excessive  vanity.  Darius  was  a  weak  and  vain  king,  utterly 
unfit  to  wear  a  crown,  else  he  would  have  asked,  What  can  be  the 
motive  of  these  men  in  proposing  such  a  law?  What!  must  no 
child  ask  bread  of  his  father  for  thirty  days  save  under  pain  of 
being  cast  to  the  lions?  Must  no  friend  ask  favor  of  friend  save 
under  such  a  penalty  ?     What  can  this  proposal  mean  ?    Who  oan 

bo  the  better  for  such  a  law? Plainly,  the  appended  exception, 

"  Save  of  thee,  O  king,"  was  so  grateful  to  his  vanity  that  it  blinded 
his  dull  eye  to  the  monstrous  nature  and  possible  bearings  of  this 

law. This  point  in  the  fundamental  law  of  the  Medo-Persian 

realm,  that  no  royal  decree,  once  duly  signed  and  sealed,  should 
ever  be  changed,  was  probably  adopted  for  the  purpose  of  forestall- 
ing the  caprice  of  monarchs  and  guarding  against  sudden  and  rash 
changes.  It  was  probably  hoped  that  it  would  operate  to  lessen 
the  evils  incident  to  arbitrary  and  absolute  power.  It  was,  how- 
ever, a  radically  vicious  principle.  For  why  should  not  every  man 
be  wiser  to-day  than  he  was  yesterday  ?  Why  should  not  the  win- 
dows be  always  kept  open  to  admit  new  light  on  all  subjects;  and  if 
so,  then,  also,  to  adjust  our  activities  to  the  demands  of  this  new 
light  ?  The  present  case  shows  that  the  original  law,  not  less  than 
any  proposed  amendment,  may  be  capricious  and  Avicked,  and  there- 
fore may  need  to  be  changed.  But  the  Medo-Persian  constitution 
seemed  to  pique  itself  upon  this  peculiarity. 

10.  Now  when  Daniel  knew  that  the  writing  was  signed, 
he  went  into  his  house;  and  his  windows  being  open  in  his 
chamber  toward  *  Jerusalem^  he  kneeled  upon  his  knees 
three  tunes  a  day,  and  prayed,  and  gave  thanks  before  his 
God,  as  he  did  aforetime. 

Daniel  saw  in  an  instant  that  this  law  was  planned  for  his 
destruction,  yet  without  one  moment's  debate  with  his  love  of 
life,  or  fear  of  lions,  he  said,  I  shall  pray  to  God  none  the  less  but 
all  the  more  for  that,  and  nonc^  the  less  openly.  With  the  God 
whom  I  serve  I  leave  the  whole  question  of  my  living  or  dying.  I 
know  it  is  my  duty  and  my  right  to  pray.  I  can  not  know  that  it 
is  my  duty  to  live.  If  the  Lord  sees  fit  to  protect  my  life,  he  can 
readily  do  so.  I  bear  my  case  to  him,  and  leave  it  in  his  hand. 
With  his  heart  thus  full  of  firmness,  prayer,  and  trust,  he  hastened 
home  to  his  house  and  to  his  accustomed  chamber  of  prayer,  and 
there — his  window  open — not  closed  as  if  he  would  conceal  his  de- 
votions— ^but  open  and  toward  Jerusalem  as  the  place  of  God's  visi- 
ble glory  and  the  locality  of  his  earthly  mercy-seat,  he  kneeled  three 

times  a  day  with  prayer  and  thanksgiving  as  aforetime. Blessed 

man !  IIow  quietly,  how  calmly,  and  how  peacefully  did  thy  heart 
repose  on  the  enduring  love  and  faithfulness  and  the  never-failing 
power  of  thy  fathers'  God !  We  love  thee  for  thy  firmness,  and  yet 
more  for  thy  precious  faith  in  Ilim  who  is  both  thy  God  and  ours. 
And  we  thank  the  God  of  our  fathers  that  he  sustained  thee  so 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  VI.  335 

graciously  and  made  thy  faith  and  firmness  in  duty  an  example  so 
inspiring  to  all  who  come  after  thee  even  down  to  the  end  of  time ! 

11.  Then  these  men  assembled,  and  found  Daniel  pray- 
ing and  making  supplication  before  his  God. 

These  men  assembled,  all  intensely  eager  to  see  if  their  scheme 
was  working  well,  and  moreover  apparently  aware  of  his  accus- 
tomed hours  of  devotion.  They  find  him  praying;  and  now  they 
feel  sure  of  his  ruin. 

12.  Then  they  came  near,  and  spake  before  the  king  con- 
cerning the  king's  decree;  Hast  thou  not  signed  a  decree, 
that  every  man  that  shall  ask  a  petition  of  any  god  or  man 
within  thirty  days,  save  of  thee,  O  king,  shall  be  cast  into 
the  den  of  lions  ?  The  king  answered  and  said,  The  thing 
is  true,  according  to  the  'law  of  the  Medes  and  Persians, 
which  altereth  not. 

13.  Then  answered  they  and  said  before  the  king,  That 
Daniel,  which  is  of  the  children  of  the  captivity  of  Judah, 
regardeth  not  thee,  O  king,  nor  the  decree  that  thou  hast 
signed,  but  maketh  his  petition  three  times  a  day. 

They  hasten  to  the  king,  and  artfully  begin  with  referring  to  the 
decree,  the  standing  law  of  the  realm,  for  these  thirty  days. .  When 
the  king  had  recognized  it,  they  bring  out  the  fact  that  Daniel  has 
broken  it,  putting  this  in  the  most  offensive  light  possible  even  for 
slander;  "regardeth  not  thee,  nor  the  decree  which  thou  hast 
signed."  That  same  Daniel  whom  thou  hast  promoted  so  exces- 
sively and  so  unwisely,  has  no  proper  regard  for  thee,  O  king !  Ho 
prays  to  others  as  much  as  he  pleases,  despite  of  thine  own  law, 

14.  Then  the  king,  when  he  heard  tliese  words,  was  sore 
displeased  with  himself,  and  set  his  heart  on  Daniel  to  de- 
liver him :  and  he  labored  till  the  going  down  of  the  sun 
to  deliver  him. 

The  king  is  chagrined  and  ashamed  of  himself  that  ho  allowed 
himself  to  be  caught  in  this  snare.  Now  for  the  first  time  he  sees 
the  envious  and  mean  spirit  of  his  officers  in  obtaining  from 
him  that  decree,  and  bites  his  lips  in  shame  that  he  could  have 
been  so  beguiled  and  entrapped.  He  labored  to  save  Daniel^ till 
the  going  down  of  the  sun.  No  doubt  he  heartily  esteemed  Daniel 
and  proiiably  loved  him,  and  felt  therefore  the  bitterest  grief  and 
shame  that  he  should  be  made  unwittingly  the  author  of  his  de- 
struction. 

15.  Then  these  men  assembled  unto  the  king,  and  said 
unto  the  king.  Know,  O  king,  that' the  law  of  the  Medes 
and  Persians  is,  That  no  decree  nor  statute  which  the  king 
establisheth  may  be  changed. 


336  DANIEL.— CHAP.  VI. 

All  his  efforts  are  unavailing.  Those  men  come  en  masse  and 
press  him  with  the  great  doctrine  of  their  national  constitution, 
that  by  the  laws  of  the  Medes  and  Persians,  no  decree  or  statute, 
once  established  by  the  king,  can  be  changed. 

16.  Then  the  king  commanded,  and  they  brought  Daniel, 
and  cast  him  into  the  den  of  lions.  Noiu  the  king  spake 
and  said  unto  Daniel,  Thy  God  whom  thou  servest  continu- 
ally, he  will  deliver  thee. 

The  king  at  length  yields  and  gives  command  that  Daniel  be  cast 
into  the  den  of  lions.  He  had  however  known  enough  of  the  one 
Jehovah  to  feel  assured  that  he  would  deliver  his  own  servant  from 
the  lions,  and  said  this  to  Daniel. 

17.  And  a  stone  was  brought,  and  laid  upon  the  mouth 
of  the  den ;  and  the  king  sealed  it  with  his  own  signet,  and 
with  the  signet  of  his  lords ;  that  the  purpose  might  not  be 
changed  concerning  Daniel. 

By  this  arrangement  the  miracle  of  divine  protection  was  put  be- 
yond any  suspicion  of  collusion  and  fraud. 

18.  Then  the  king  went  to  his  palace,  and  passed  the 
night  fasting:  neither  w^ere  instruments  of  music  brought 
before  him :  and  his  sleep  went  from  him. 

The  king's  heart  is  heavy  with  both  grief  and  shame ;  he  eats  not, 
sleeps  not.  The  word  rendered  "  instruments  of  music,"  is  sup- 
posed by  the  ablest  critics  to  mean  concubines.  Hence  the  clause 
states  that  they  were  not  admitted  to  his  society. 

19.  Then  the  king  arose  very  early  in  the  morning,  and 
went  in  haste  unto  the  den  of  lions. 

20.  And  when  he  came  to  the  den,  he  cried  with  a  la- 
mentable voice  unto  Daniel :  and  the  king  spake  and  said 
to  Daniel,  O  Daniel,  servant  of  the  living  God,  is  thy  God, 
whom  thou  servest  continually,  able  to  deliver  thee  from 
the  lions? 

With  the  dawn,  in  the  first  light,  the  king  came  to  the  den,  with 
trepidation  as  well  as  haste  (so  the  word  implies)  and  cries  out  with 
a  sad  voice,  indicating  his  grief  and  anxiety.  Though  he  had  ex- 
pressed to  Daniel  his  confidence  that  (Jlod  would  deliver  him,  yet 
he  still  asks  the  question  as  one  who  would  feel  better  assured  by 
the  evidence  of  his  senses. 

21.  Then  said  Daniel  unto  the  king*,  O  king,  live  for- 
ever. 

22.  My  God  hath  sent  his  angel,  and  hath  shut  the  lions' 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  VI.  337 

mouths,  that  they  have  not  hurt  me ;  forasmuch  as  before 
him  imiocency  was  found  in  me;  and  also  before  thee,  O 
king,  have  I  done  no  hurt. 

Daniel  casts  no  severe  reproach  upon  the  king.  Indeed,  the 
original  rather  expresses  a  genial  and  kindly  feeling;  Daniel 
"talked  with  the  king."  With  beautiful  modesty,  he  ascribes  his 
deliverance  to  God's  own  hand  alone  through  his  angel,  and  very 
properly  asserts  his  innocence  of  any  wrong  in  this  matter,  either 
toward  God  or  toward  his  king.  He  could  not  admit  that  he  had 
done  any  harm  toward  the  king  by  oj&ering  his  prayer  to  the  God 
of  heaven.  A  law  so  intrinsically  wicked  he  could  not  obey — ought 
not  to  obey — and  was  consciously  guilty  of  no  wrong  against  the 

law-making  power  in  disobeying. We  may  suppose  Daniel  to 

have  had  a  sweet  sense  of  the  presence  of  God  by  his  angel  while 
spending  the  night  in  the  den  with  those  hungry  lions.  There  they 
were,  their  savage  nature  and  clamoring  appetites  held  in  firm  sub- 
jection, and  God's  own  hand  in  it  visibly  present  to  his  eye  and 
consciously  to  his  innermost  soul.     That  was  a  night  of  mingled 

prayer  and  praise. Is  it  not  safe  for  all  men  to  trust  God  in  the 

path  of  known  duty,  though  it  lead  into  a  lion's  den  ?  Nay,  is  it 
not  more  than  safe — even  gloriously  blessed,  to  live  so  near  to  God 
and  to  see  his  angels  present  in  such  forms  of  power  and  glory  for 
the  protection  of  his  trusting  people?  Who  would  not  welcome 
such  an  experience  as  that  of  Daniel,  and  rejoice  to  make  it  his 
own? 

23.  Then  was  the  king  exceeding  glad  for  him,  and  com- 
manded that  they  should  take  Daniel  up  out  of  the  den. 
So  Daniel  was  taken  up  out  of  the  den,  and  no  manner  of 
hurt  was  found  upon  him,  because  he  believed  in  his  God. 

The  king  is  relieved  and  joyous  to  find  that  his  valued  friend  is 
safe  and  that  no  serious  consequences  have  come  from  his  wicked 
law.  The  demands  of  the  law  having  now  been  met,  he  orders 
Daniel  brought  forth  from  the  den.  Not  a  scratch  is  on  him,  and 
those  heathen  men  know  that  this  comes  of  his  believing  in  his 
God.  They  are  witnesses  to  the  saving  power  of  Jehovah,  God  of 
Israel. 

24.  And  the  king  commanded,  and  they  brought  those 
men  which  had  accused  Daniel,  and  they  cast  them  into  the 
den  of  lions,  them,  their  children,  and  their  wives  ;  and  the 
lions  had  the  mastery  of  them,  and  brake  all  their  bones  in 
pieces  or  ever  they  came  at  the  bottom  of  the  den. 

The  great  crime  of  Daniel's  accusers  now  meets  its  righteous  pun- 
ishment. They  had  plotted  his  death;  and  though  tliey  had  sought 
to  effect  it  by  the  forms  of  law,  yet  their  malice  and  hence  their 
guilt  were  none  the  less  for  this  reason.     It  was  right  and  just  that 

15 


338  DANIEL.— CHAP.  VI. 

they  should  be  made  a  public  example,  and  the  king  was  fully  pre- 
pared to  do  it. 

25.  Then  king  Darius  wrote  unto  all  people,  nations,  and 
languages,  that  dwell  in  all  the  earth  ;  Peace  be  multiplied 
unto  you. 

26.  I  make  a  decree,  That  in  every  dominion  of  my  king- 
dom men  tremble  and  fear  before  the  God  of  Daniel :  for 
he  is  the  living  God,  and  steadfast  forever,  and  his  king- 
dom that  which  shall  not  be  destroyed,  and  his  dominion 
shall  be  even  unto  tlie  end. 

27.  He  delivereth  and  rescueth,  and  lie  worketh  signs 
and  wonders  in  lieaven  and  in  earth,  who  hath  delivered 
Daniel  from  the  power  of  the  lions. 

These  proceedings  culminate  in  a  royal  decree  after  the  manner 
of  Nebuchadnezzar  (chap.  3:  29),  calling  on  all  men  of  every  tribe 
and  language  in  all  the  earth,  to  tremble  and  fear  before  the  God 
of  Daniel,  The  logic  of  this  decree  is  simple.  God  delivered 
Daniel  from  the  lions  by  his  supernatural  power.  He  whose  power 
is  so  manifestly  above  nature  must  be  the  God  of  nature — the  Maker 
and  Lord  of  all.  He  alone  is  the  object  of  all  rightful  worship  and 
of  true  reverence,  homage,  love  and  trust. 

28.  So  this  Daniel  prospered  in  the  reign  of  Darius,  and 
in  the  reign  of  Cyrus  the  Persian. 

Daniel's  prosperity,  his  high  position  and  commanding  influence 
in  pulilic  affairs,  continued  throughout  the  reign  of  Darius  and  into 
the  reign  of  Cyrus: — how  far  into  the  latter  is  not  said.      His  last 

recorded  vision  was  in  the  third  year  of  Cyrus. The  reader  will 

scarcely  need  the  suggestion  that  the  character  of  Daniel,  thus  far 
brought  out  fully  under  various  and  most  trying  circumstances, 
shines  only  the  more  brilliantly  by  how  much  the  fiercer  the  ordeal 
through  which  it  passes.  He  evinces  the  docility  and  modesty  of 
a  child,  coupled  with  superlative  wisdom,  great  executive  ability, 
unswerving  fidelity,  and  a  firmness  of  principle  that  is  above  all 
praise.  His  case  presents  the  highest  order  of  human  qualities 
of  character,  ennobled  and  exalted  by  the  best  type  of  true  piety. 
l>ohold  in  Daniel  what  the  rich  gifts  of  God's  grace  can  make  rf 
tlie  noblest  of  men!  Let  all  who  look  toward  office  or  any  public 
trust  take  note  of  Daniel,  and  account  him  one  of  the  best  models 
of  character  for  those  who  would  hold  well  the  trusts  to  which 
they  aspire. 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  VII.  339 


CHAPTER  VII. 

This  chapter  gives  the  second  of  the  four  great  prophecies  of 
Daniel — a  vision  obviously  in  very  close  analogy  with  that  of  chap. 
2:  31-45,  and  in  general  parallel  vrith  that  of  chap:  8,  and  also  that 

of  chaps.  10-12. The  prophet  sees  in  succession  four  great  beasts, 

the  last  of  which  has  ten  horns  and  ultimately  an  eleventh  (vs.  2-8); 
he  then  sees  the  fourth  beast  judged  and  slain  (vs.  9-11);  next  "one 
like  a  Son  of  man,"  receiving  his  eternal  kingdom  (vs.  13,  14); 
finally,  he  asks  and  obtains  an  interpretation  of  tliis  vision,  especially 
of  the  fourth  beast  and  his  horns  (vs.  15-28). 

In  commenting  upon  this  chapter,  I  propose  to  give,  first,  such 
special  expositions  as  the  several  clauses  may  seem  to  require,  and 
then  discuss  the  great  question  at  issue  here — the  real  significance 
of  the  fourth  beast  and  his  horns.  This  latter  is  the  point  on 
which  commentators  differ;  in  all  else,  they  mostly  agree. 

1.  In  the  first  year  of  Belsliazzar  king  of  Babylonia  Dan- 
iel had  a  dream  and  visions  of  his  head  upon  his  bed : 
then  he  wrote  the  dream,  and  told  the  sum  of  the  matters. 

Any  attempt  to  fix  the  date  of  this  vision  involves  the  identification 
of  13elshazzar  Avith  some  one  of  the  monarchs  of  Babylon.     (On 

this  subject,  see  the  general  introduction  to  Daniel,  p.  286.) 1 

do  not  find  him  in  Evil-Merodach  who  reigned  after  the  death  of 
his  father  Nebuchadnezzar,  two  years,  B.  C.  561-559;  nor  in  Nerig- 
lissar,  his  successor,  reigning  four  years,  B.  C.  559-555;  nor  in 
his  son,  Laborosoarchod  who  reigned  but  nine  months,  and  whose 
name  therefore  does  not  appear  on  the  canon  of  Ptolemy;  nor  in 
Nabonidus  (shortened  into  Nabonned),  known  by  the  Greeks  as 
Labynetus,  who  reigned  seventeen  years,  B.  C.  555-538,  which 
brings  us  down  to  the  subversion  of  the  Chaldean  empire  by  Cy- 
rus. ^  But  I  do  find  him  coincident  with  the  last  years  of  Nabo- 
nidus, his  .father,  who  took  him  into  partnership  with  the  title  of 
king,  as  is  shown  by  an  inscription  recently  discovered.  How  long 
he  stood  in  this  relation,  bearing  the  title  of  king,  is  not  known. 
The  sacred  record  speaks  (chap.   8:    1)  of  his  third  year.     His 

death  occurred  B.  C.   538. In  his  first  year  Daniel  had  this 

vision,  and  immediately  committed  to  writing  its  main  points,  as 
revealing  matters  of  high  moment. 

2.  Daniel  spake  and  saicj,  I  saw  in  my  vision  by  night, 
and;  behold,  the  four  winds  of  the  heaven  strove  upon  the 
great  sea. 

3.  And  four  great  beasts  came  up  fi-om  the  sea,  diverse 
one  from  another. 

The  elements  of  nature  are  in  great  commotion,  s3*mbolizing 
convulsions   in   the   political   elements.     These   four  great  beasts 


340  DANIEL.— CHAP.  VII. 

come  forth  from  the  agitated  sea,  manifestly  2?i  succession,  to  de- 
note succession  in  the  order  of  time  in  the  great  empires  of  which 
they  are  the  symbols. 

4.  The  first  ivas  like  a  lion,  and  had  eagle's  wings :  I 
beheld  till  the  wings  thereof  were  plucked,  and  it  was 
lifted  up  from  the  earth,  and  made  to  stand  upon  the  feet 
as  a  man,  and  a  man's  heart  was  given  to  it. 

This  lion  with  eagle's  wings  is  thoroughly  a  Chaldean  concep- 
tion. Layard's  late  work,  entitled,  "  Discoveries  in  Nineveh," 
abounds  with  cases  of  this  mongrel  type,  putting  an  eagle's  wings 
upon  a  lion,  or,  as  the  case  may  be,  upon  a  bull.  "  Winged  lions," 
"winged  bulls,"  and  even  human  figures,  with  wings  extending 
from  the  shoulders,  have  been  disinterred  in  considerable  numbers 
from  the  ruins  of  Nineveh  within  the  present  century,  affording 
remarkable  proof  that  these  conceptions  in  this  vision  of  Daniel, 
and  also  in  Ezckicl  chap.  1,  and  plscwher.c,  are  fully  in  keeping 
with  the  popular  ideas  and  the  artistic  usages  of  the  people  living 

in  the  valley  of  the  Euphrates  during  the  age  of  these  prophets. 

Moreover,  the  lion  and  the  eagle  were  then  as  now,  symbols 
of  royalty,  figuring  conspicuously  in  the  memorial  arms  of  sove- 
reigns. Layard  speaks  of-  the  name  and  title  of  the  Khorsabad 
kings,  accompanied  by  the  figure  of  a  lion.  The  reader  will  re- 
call "the  British  lion,"  and  "the  American  eagle."  So  this  first 
beast  is  a  lion  with  eagle's  wings. -^ — As  Daniel  continued  to  study 
this  beast,  lo,  a  change  comes  over  him.  Ilis  wings  are  plucked ; 
he  is  lifted  up  to  stand  erect  as  a  man,  and  a  man's  heart  is  given 
him.  This  change  is  not  from  brutal  to  human  intelligence,  but 
from  the  brute  force  and  resistless  ferocity  of  the  lion  and  the 
eagle,  to  the  comparative  physical  weakness  of  the  man.  The 
Chaldean  empire  is  fast  waning  to  its  fall.  Its  glory  has  de- 
parted; its  pristine,  vigor  has  gone. In  saying  Chaldea,  I  have 

of  course  assumed  this  to  be  the  meaning  of  the  lion  Avith  eagle's 
wings.  On  this  point  all  commentators  agree.  There  is  no  room 
for  doubt  or  difference  of  opinion.  The  series  of  great  empires 
begins  at  the  point  of  time  then  present,  even  as  it  did  in  the 

great  image,   chap.  2:   31-45.— Let  it  be  distinctly  noted  also 

that  Daniel  asks  no  explanation  whatever  of  the  first  three  of 
these  symbols;  the  lion,  the  bear,  and  the  leopard.  They  corre- 
spond so  perfectly  with  the  first  three  divisions  of  the  great  image — 
the  head ;  the  breast  afid  arms ;  and  the  belly  and  thighs ;  that  he 

has  no  occasion  to  raise  any  question  for  further  explanation. 

Moreover  it  is  not  distinctly  aflirmed  here  that  these  beasts  come 
forward  iji  succession,  each  supplanting  its  predecessor.  The  idea 
of  succession  and  the  manner  of  it,  are  not  made  so  clear  in  this 
chapter  as  in  chap.  8,  where  the  he-goat  overpowers  the  ram,  and 
then  succeeds  to  his  empire.  Yet  it  is  very  manifest  that  these 
b(Mists  do  follow  eacli  other  in  regular  succession.  The  first  has 
had  great  power,  but  is  now  seen  shorn  of  it  and  ready  to  bo  van- 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  VII.  341 

quishcd.  The  second  in  its  time  is  a  devourer  of  nations ;  to  tho 
third,  "dominion  is  given."  No  other  view  can  reasonably  be 
taken  of  these  beasts  considered  as  great  national  powers,  except 
that  they  SAvay  the  empire  of  the  world  successively — each  being 
for  his  time  supreme  on  the  field  of  their  location. 

5.  And  behold  another  beast,  a  second,  like  to  a  bear, 
and  it  raised  up  itself  on  one  side,  and  it  had  three  ribs  in 
the  mouth  of  it  between  the  teeth  of  it :  and  they  said  thus 
unto  it,  Arise,  devour  much  flesh. 

Of  this  second  beast  like  a  bear,  our  translation  states  that  "  it 
raised  up  itself  on  one  side."  The  original  gives  no  sanction  to  this 
reciprocal  sense,  raising  one's-self  up,  but  rather  means  that  it  was 
made  to  stcoid,  or  simply  arose  and  stood.  Its  "  standing  07i  one 
side"  should  mean,  either,  on  one  side  of  the  lion-power  of  v.  4, 
viz.,  on  the  Xorth,  or  more  closely  N.  N.  E. ;  or  that  it  put  forth  its 
aggressions  en  one  direction,  i.  e.,  toward  Chaldea,  and  the  tribes  of 
Western  Asia.  Either  sense  is  admissible  in  view  both  of  the  orig- 
inal language  and  of  the  historic  facts. Its   "three  ribs  in  the 

mouth"  indicate  that  it  has  been  devouring  flesh  and  still  has  these 
three  ribs  not  yet  cranched  and  swallowed.  I  doubt  if  any  special 
significance  attaches  to  the  number  of  these  ribs.  The  beast  is  com- 
missioned to  devour  yet  more.  Of  course  this  denotes  the  subjuga- 
tion of  yet  other  nationalities,  and  absorbing  them  into  its  own — an 
accurate  history  so  far  of  the  Medo-Persian  power. 

6.  After  this,  I  beheld,  and  lo,  another,  like  a  leopard, 
which  had  upon  the  back  of  it  four  wings  of  a  fowl :  the 
beast  had  also  four  heads;  and  dominion  was  given  to  it. 

This  be'ast,  all  commentators  agree,  is  the  Grecian  empire  of 
Alexander — ^winged  to  denote  the  velocity  of  its  armies  and  the 
rapidity  of  its  conquests.  "Dominion  given  to  it,"  almost  drops  the 
figure  of  a  beast,  to  give  us  in  literal  phrase  the  history  of  this 
power.  Correspondingly  the  passage  (chap.  2:  39),  has  it,  "An- 
other third  kingdom  of  brass  which  shall  bear  rule  over  all  the 

earth." Its  having  four  heads  is  altogether  in  harmony  with  the 

peculiar  style  of  com|^osite  and  compound  forms  which  abounds  in 
the  ruins  of  ancient  Nineveh  and  Babylon.  I  doubt  if  any  special 
significance  pertains  to  it;  but,  if  any,  it  may  be  this — that  the 
Grecian  empire  of  Alexander  was  distinguished  (as  was  Greece  her- 
self) more  by  the  power  of  thought  than  the  power  of  brute  force. 
Among  the  great  kingdoms  of  that  ancient  world,  this  was  the  em- 
pire of  brains. 

7.  After  this  I  saw  in  the  night  visions,  and  behold  a 
fourth  beast,  dreadful  and  terrible,  and  strong  exceedingly ; 
and  it  had  great  iron  teeth :  it  devoured  and  brake  in  pieces, 
and  stamped  the  residue  Avith  the  feet  of  it :  and  it  luas  di- 


342  DANIEL.— CHAP.  VII. 

verse  from  all  the  beasts  that  ivere  before  it;  and  it  had  ten 
horns. 

8.  I  considered  the  horns,  and  behold,  there  came  up 
among  them  another  little  horn,  before  whom  there  were 
three  of  the  first  horns  plucked  up  by  the  roots  :  and  be- 
hold in  this  horn  were  ejes  like  the  eyes  of  man,  and  a 
mouth  speaking  great  things. 

Postponinf;;  my  full  discussion  of  the  identity  of  this  fourth  beast 
until  other  points  in  the  chapter  shall  have  been  considered,  I  wish 
the  reader  to  notice  noAV (1.)  That  this  beast  is  specially  de- 
scribed as  strong!;,  dreadful  and  terrible. (2).  That  according  to 

the  interpretation  (vs.  23,  24),  this  beast  stands  for  the  fourth 
kingdom;  and  his  ten  horns  are  ten  kings  in  this  kingdom,  and 
the  little  horn  is  also  a  king  in  the  same  line. (3.)  Ap- 
parently, the  terribleness  of  this  fourth  kingdom  lies  specially 
(though  not  solely)  in  this  little  horn-king.  In  proof  of  this,  I  ad- 
duce two  facts:  (a)  that  the  detailed  account  of  the  devastations 
wrought  by  this  entire  power  ascribes  them  to  the  little  horn  (see 
vs.  2i,  22):  and  {h)  that  the  judgment  Avhich  comes  down  from 
God  upon  this  fourth  beast  is  represented  as  invoked  specially  by 
the  spirit  and  the  deeds  of  this  little  horn,  (see  vs.  11  and  2G).  It 
was  "  because  of  the  voice  of  the  great  words  which  the  horn  spake," 
that  "  the  beast  was  slain."  And  v.  26,  also  implies  that  the  court 
for  judgment  sat  upon  the  case  of  the  little  horn,  and  took  away 
his  dominion,  to  consume  and  destroy  it  utterly.  That  is,  he  was 
king  of  the  fourth  kingdom  at  the  time  of  this  consuming  judg- 
ment.  (4.)  The  terrible  devastations  effected  by  this  little  horn 

manifestly  fall  upon  the  recognized  people  of  God,  his  visible  church; 
and  at  a  period  when  that  church  was  Jewish,  as  is  indicated  by 
this  circumstance — that  his  aggressions  upon  their  religion  arc  de- 
scribed as  a  puqiose  to  "change  times  and  laws" — a  phrase  by 
which  a  Jewish  Avriter  would  mean  and  Jewish  readers  would  un- 
derstand, the  times  and  laws  of  the  jNFosaic  ritual  service.  [This 
point  Avill  be  amply  confirmed  when  we  reach  the  parallel  account 
of  the  little  horn's  aiiiiressions  upon  God's  people  as  civen  in  chap. 

8:    10-14,   23-25,   and  11:  31-35.] (5.)  .  Hence 'it  is  entirely 

legitimate  to  infer  that  this  fourth  beast  is  dreadful  and  terrible 
to  Daniel  chiefly  as  seen  from  his  Jeivish  stand-pointy  in  the  light 
of  his  intense  love  for  his  own  people,  his  sympathy  with  their 
fortunes,  and  his  responsibilities  for  their  protection  and  welfare. 
]  infer  this  from  considerations  draAvn  in  part  from  the  known 
relations  sustained  by  Daniel  to  iha  Jewish  people ;  in  part  from 
numerous  testimonies  throughout  this  entire  book  to  the  great 
strength  of  these  feelings  of  love,  s_ym|)athv,  and  solicitude  in  his 
heart  for  them;  and  in  part  from  palpal)le  indications  in  this 
very  vision  as  above  shown.  The  jioiut  is  one  of  great  importance 
in  determining  the  ultimate  significance  of  this  fourth  beast  and  his 
horns,  since  it  shows  that  this  beast  is  not  seen  as  great  and  terrible 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  VII.  343 

fdaiivdy  to  the,  whole  luorld^  and  certainly  not  relatively  to  the  great 
European  world,  onward  to  the  end  of  time,  and  quite  apart  from 
any  bearing  upon  the  Jews  while  "they  were  the  visible  church  and 
kingdom  of  God ;  but  is  seen  as  terrible  to  the  Jews  mainly,  and  to 
them  before  the  kingdom  of  God  was  taken  from  them  and  given  to 

the  Gentiles. This  kingdom,  said  repeatedly  to  be  "diverse  from 

all  the  beasts  that  were  before  it"  (v.  7);  "diverse  from  all  others" 
(v.  19);  "a  kingdom  diverse  from  all  kingdoms"  (v.  23) — may  have 
been  diverse  in  this  particular  respect,  viz.,  of  hostile  bearing  against 
the  Jewish  people  and  their  religion.     This  would  make  that  power 

specially  formidable  to  the  Jews. In  the  absence  of  any  specific 

showing  of  the  point  wherein  this  diversity  lies,  this  is  obviously 

the  most  probable  supposition. The  characteristics  of  the  little 

horn;  "eyes  as  of  a  man  and  a  mouth  speaking  great  things,"  will 
be  unfolded  more  fully  in  the  sequel.  Suffice  it  to  say  here  that 
these  symbols  indicate  keen  intelligence,  sharpened  by  a  malign 
spirit  and  purpose,  and  by  blasphemous  hostility  against  the  true 

God  and  his  people. The  plucking  up  of  three  of  the  first  horns 

is  alluded  to  and  in  part  explained  in  v.  20.  This  will  be  a  matter 
for  future  consideration. 

9.  I  beheld  till  the  thrones  were  cast  do^vn,  and  the  An- 
cient of  days  did  sit,  Whose  garment  was  Avhite  as  snow,  and 
the  hair  of  his  head  like  the  pure  wool :  his  throne  ims 
like  the  fiery  flame,  and  his  Avheels  as  burning  fire. 

10.  A  fiery  stream  issued  and  came  forth  from  before 
him :  thousand  thousands  ministered  unto  him,  and  ten  thou- 
sand times  ten  thousand  stood  before  him  :  the  judgment 
was  set,  and  the  books  were  opened. 

11.  I  beheld  then  because  of  the  voice  of  the  great  words 
which  the  horn  spake :  I  beheld  even  till  the  beast  was  slain, 
and  his  body  destroyed,  and  given  to  the  burning  flame. 

The  vital  question  on  this  passage  is ;  Does  it  refer  to  the  final 
and  general  judgment;  or  to  providential  judgments  in  time^  for  the 

destruction  of  the  fourth  beast  and  his  horns  ? 1  adopt  the  latter 

view  and  defend  it  on  the  following  grounds. (1.)  The  general 

final  judgment  is  not  in  place  here;  would  have  no  connection  with 
the  subject  in  hand;  is  not  indicated  by  any  thing  said  in  the  con- 
text, or  by  the  nature  of  the  subject. On  the  contrary,  an  al- 
lusion to  God's  providential  judgments  upon  guilty  nations  is  in 
'place  here^  precisely  so,  being  the  very  thing  that  such  blasphemous 
hostility  to  his  kingdom  and  people  calls  for  and  should  lead  us  to 

expect. (2.)  In  the  government  of  God  over  men,  individuals 

will  bo  judged  at  the  end  of  this  world,  and  punislied  or  rewarded 
in  the  next ;  but  nations  can  be  punished  only  in  time — only  in  this 
world,  for  the  sufficient  reason  that  they  exist  as  nations  only  here. 
They  are  not  known  as  nations  after  tliis  life.  The  awards  made 
at  the  final  judgment  are  upon  individuals  only ;   the  retributions 


344  DANIEL.— CHAP.  VII. 

of  eternity  arc  on  individuals  alone.  Ilcncc  if  this  jud,o:ment  falls 
on  the  fourth  beast  and  his  horns,  it  must  ]>c  in  this  world;  it  can 

not  be  at  and  after  the  end  of  it. (3.)  The  declared  result  and 

outcome  of  this  judgment  is  that  this  fourth  beast  "  is  destroyed, 
and  his  body  given  to  the  burning  flame"  (v.  11).  Conclusive  to 
the  same  point  is  v.  2G.  "The  judgment  shall  sit"  (i.  c,  on  the 
little  horn-king,  then  representing  the  fourth  beast),  "  and  they 
shall  take  away  his  dominion  to  consume  and  destroy  it"  utterly. 

What  could  be  more  decisive  ?     A  nationality  swept  away ; 

indeed  the  last  one  in  a  long  series  of  Asiatic  world-kingdoms; 
kings  cut  down  in  their  pride  and  rage  against  God, — these  are 
the  declared  results  of  this  judgment. But  if  this  were  the  judg- 
ment scene  of  the  last  day,  its  result  and  outcome  ought  to  be  like 
that  of  Mat.  25 :  31-46 — the  assigning  of  the  righteous  and  of  the 
wicked  each  to  their  eternal  destinies — "these  into  everlasting  pun- 
ishment;" "those  into  life  eternal." (4.)  But  further,  the  dis- 
tinctive characteristics  of  the  final  judgment  are  not  here. These 

are,  (a)  That  it  takes  place  at  the  end  of  the  world. (b)  Is  pre- 
ceded by  the  general  resurrection. (c)  Embraces  all  the  human 

race  from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  time ;  and  even  the  fallen 

angels. ((/)  That  men  are  judged  in  it  as  individuals  and  not 

as" nations.     They  are  not  known  as  nations  there.     There  "Every 

one  of  us  shall  give  account  of  himself  unto  God." (e)  In  the 

final  judgment,  Jesus  Christ  is  to  be  the  Judge.    In  this,  the  Judge 

is  "the  Ancient  of  days,"  the  Eternal  Father.    (See  v.  13.) (/) 

Its  results  are  not  transient,  as  these  appear  to  be,  but  eternal, 
even  the  eternal   award  of  destiny  to  the  righteous  and  to  the 

wicked. (g)  The  final  ^ndgniant  folloivs  Christ's  second  advent; 

this  precedes  his  first  advent. The  latter  statement,  it  will  soon 

be  seen,  must  be  true.  The  next  verses  (viz.,  13,  14)  describe 
Christ's  ascension  and  inauguration  as  King — events  that  follow 
close  after  his  resurrection — which  itself  belongs  to  his  first,  not 

his  second  advent. All  these  points  are  characteristic  features 

of  the  final  judgment.  They  are  all  wanting  here.  Their  absence 
forbids  our  interpreting  this  passage  of  the  final  judgment.  Uence 
we  are  shut   up  to  the  other  alternative — a  special  providential 

judgment,  of  such  sort  as  God  sends  on  guilty  nations  in  time. 

(5.)  It  can  scarcely  be  necessary  to  adduce  any  other  argument  to 
prove  that  this  passage  refers  to  God's  providential  judgments  on 
the  fourth  beast  and  his  horns;  yet  it  will  interest  the  thoughtful 
Biljle  reader,  and  is  entirely  legitimate  to  the  sphere  of  an  expos- 
itor, to  add  that  the  descri})tive  points  in  this  passage  are  fully  in 
analogy  with  those  theophanies  which  occur  somewhat  frequently 
in  the  Old  Testament  scriptures,  in  which  (jod  is  seen  enthroned, 
or  coming  down  in  fire,  often  with  attending  angels,  and  perhaps 
with  the  forms  of  a  judicial  tribunal,  to  visit  retribution  on  guilty 

nations. 'JMiat  is  to  say,  the  antilogies  of  this  passage  are  zvith 

those  which  describe  the  judgments  of  God  upon  guilty  nations  in 
time.    Its  main  points  and  features  are  identical  with  this  class  of 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  VII.  345 

passages,  and  therefore  it  belongs  with  them  and  denotes  the  same 
class  of  judgments. 

Taking  the  main  points  of  this  passage  in  the  order  in  which 
they  stand,  we  have — (a)  The  Almighty  God  enthroned.  Here, 
"  I  beheld  till  the  thrones  were  cast  down,  and  the  Ancient  of  days 
did  sit."  "  Cast  down,"  is  not  (as  the  Engli)?h  reader  might  sup- 
pose) overthrown,  demolished,  but  means  ^Vm(y  sct.^  preparatory  to 

being  used  as  a  royal  judgment-seat. Correspondingly  in  other 

Hebrew  theophanies  ;  Isaiah  (6:  1)  "saw  the  Lord  sitting  on  a 
throne,  high  and  lifted  up."  Micaiah  (1  Kings  22:  19)  "saw  the 
Lord  sitting  on  his  throne,  and  all  the  host  of  heaven  standing  by 
him  on  his  right  hand  and  on  his  left."  The  Psalmist  (11:  4,  G) 
writes,  "The  Lord's  throne  is  in  heaven;  his  eyes  behold,  his  eye- 
lids try  the  children  of  men:"   .   .   .    "Upon  the  wicked  he  will 

rain  fire  and  brimstone  and  an  horrible  tempest,"  etc. "His 

garments  white  as  snow,  and  the  hair  of  his  head  like  the  pure 
wool,"  has  its  analogy  in  the  Apocalypse  (1 :  14).  "His  head  and 
his  hairs  were  white  like  wool,  as  white  as  snow."  Age  is  vener- 
able; its  incidents  are  clustered  upon  this  personage  to  bespeak 
for  him  reverence  and  homage.     He  is  "  the  Ancient  of  Days." 

Ijut  this  feature  does  not  point  to  the  final  judgment. {h)  This 

throne  is  on  wheels,  and  has  the  aspect  of  fire  and  flame.  So  in 
Ezek.  1.  The  visible  glory  of  Jehovah  appears  upon  a  throne,  which 
itself  reposes  upon  a  "firmament"  or  elevated  platform,  supported 
by  four  living  creatures  who  are  singularly  connected  with  living 
wheels.  Here  also  is  the  aspect  of  fire.  "As  for  the  likeness  of 
the  living  creatures,  their  appearance  was  like  burning  coals  of  fire, 
and  like  the  appearance  of  lamps ;  it  went  up  and  down  among  the 
living  creatures,  and  the  fire  was  bright,  and  out  of  the  fire  went 

forth  lightning"  (Ezek.  1:  13). It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that 

Ezekiel  and  Daniel  were  both  residents  in  Chaldea,  and  were  there- 
fore familiar  with  those  very  peculiar  modes  of  representing  the 
divine  attributes  which  appear  in  the  ruins  of  Nineveh  as  exhumed 
within  the  last  thirty  years.  Also,  that  they  were  contemporary; 
that  Ezekiel  wrote  his  first  chapter  B.  C.  595  (see  chap.  1 :  2),  and 
Daniel  this  chapter  about  B.  C.  540;  i.  c,  fifty-five  years  later;  so 
that  Daniel  might  have  had  thp  writings  of  his  elder  brother 
before  him  many  years.     Hence  perhaps  their  close  resemblance. 

(c)  Fire  issues  forth  from  God  to  devour  his  enemies.     Here 

in  Daniel,  "A  fiery  stream  issued  and  came  forth  from  before  him." 
So  Ps.  50:  5,  "Our  God  shall  come  .  .  .  .  a  fire  shall  devour  Tje- 
fore  him;  it  shall  be  very  tempestuous  round  about  him."  And  Ps. 
97 :  3,  "A  fire  goeth  before  him  and  burnetii  up  his  enemies  round 
about."  In  David's  glowing  description  of  the  Lord's  coming  to 
his  aid  against  his  foes  (Ps.  18:  8)  we  read;  "There  went  up  a 
smoke  out  of  his  nostrils;  fire  out  of  his  mouth  devoured."  So 
also  Moses  (Deut.  5:  24),  "For  the  Lord  thy  God  is  a  consuming 
fire,  even  a  jealous  God."  So  in  Heb.  12:  29,  "For  our  God  is 
a  consuming  fire."  The  fire  sent  on  Sodom  seems  to  have  been  a 
standing  type  or  model  of  God's  judgments  on  corrupt  nations  and 


346  DANIEL.— CHAP.  VII. 

to  have  supplied  the  figures  of  speech  to  express  this  idea.  In  Isa. 
34:  9,  10,  the  alkision  to  that  model  is  specially  palpable.  Of  Idu- 
mea,  the  prophet  said,  "  The  streams  thereof  shall  be  turned  into 
pitch  and  the  dust  thereof  into  brimstone,  and  the  land  thereof 
shall  become  burning  pitch.  It  shall  not  be  quenched  night  nor 
day;  the  smoke  thereof  shall  go  up  forever." Hence  fire  be- 
came the  usual  symbol  to  denote  the  judgments  which  the  Lord 
in  his  providence  brings  upon  guilty  nations  in  time,  of  which  fact 
it  may  suffice  to  quote  but  one  more  passage  (Isa.  GG:  15,  IG);  "For 
behold  the  Lord  will  come  with  fire  and  with  his  chariots  like  a 
whirlwind,  to  render  his  anger  with  fury  and  his  rebuke  Avith 
flames  of  fire;  for  by  fire  and  by  his  sword  will  the  Lord  plead 
with  all  flesh;  and  the  slain  of  the  Lord  shall  be  many."  The 
reader  may  add  Mai.  4:1,  3. {d)  Thousands  of  attendant  min- 
istering angels.  Here  it  stands ;  "  Thousand  thousands  ministered 
unto  him;  ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand  stood  l)efore  him."  The 
fjict  that  they  ^ninistered  to  him  shows  them  to  be,  not  culprits  at 
his  bar,  but  servants  awaiting  his  command.  To  "  stand  before 
him"  is  also  the  customary  attitude  of  his  attendant  angels.  Not 
in  the  final  judgment  alone,  but  wherever  the  Lord  appears  in  his 
glory  and  majesty  and  lets  men  see  the  realities  of  the  spiritual 
world,  angels  are  seen  about  him  as  his  executive  agents.  Micaiah 
saw  all  the  host  of  heaven  standing  by  him  on  his  right  hand  and 
on  his  left  (1  Kings  22:  19).  When  on  Sinai  there  "went  forth 
from  the  Lord's  right  hand  a  fiery  law  for  them"  (Deut.  33:  2), 
"he  came  with  ten  thousand  of  saints,"  holy  ones;  said  by  the 
Psalmist  (G8 :  17)  to  have  been  "thousands  of  Angels."  Zech.  14: 
5,  has  the  same  feature ;  "  There  comes  the  Lord  my  God !  All 
the  holy  ones  are  with  Thee." {e)  The  forms  of  a  judicial  tri- 
bunal. The  close  analogy  between  the  judicial  proceedings  of 
human  courts  and  of  the  divine,  accounts  most  amply  for  these 
allusions.  Thus  Daniel;  "The  judgment  was  set  and  the  books 
were  opened;"  and  v.  2G,  "The  judgment  shall  sit."  So  else- 
where in  those  cases  where  the  Lord  comes  down  for  the  judgment 
of  wicked  nations.  Ps.  50  is  a  case  where  the  Lord  "  calls  to  the 
heavens  from  above  and  to  the  earth,  that  he  may  judge  his  peo- 
ple" .  .  .  .  "for  God  is  judge  himself"  Joel  3  is  wholly  in  this 
strain.  "Let  the  heathen  be  wakened  and  come  up  to  the  valley 
of  Jehoshaphat;  for  there  Avill  I  sit  to  judge  all  the  heathen  round 

about." 1  am  not  aware  that  any  other  Hebrew  theophany  save 

this  of  Daniel  introduces  the  symbol  of  "  the  books  "  as  witnessing 
records  against  the  ungodly,  but  there  is  surely  no  reason  for  as- 
suming that  this  symbol  can  be  used  of  no  other  judgment  than 
that  at  the  end  of  the  world.  All  the  rest  of  these  sj-mbols  are 
used,  elesewhere  than  in  Daniel,  to  denote  the  visitations  of  divine 
judgment  on  guilty  nations  in  time. (/)  It  may  seem  to  be  su- 
perfluous to  argue  this  point  further;  yet  in  a  word  let  me  add  that 
this  destruction  of  the  fourth  beast  and  his  horns  must  correspond 
with  the  stone  smiting  the  great  image  upon  his  feet  of  iron  and 
clay  (chap.  2:  34,  35).      As  this  smiting  was  not  the  final  judg- 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  VII.  347 

ment,  but  a  jud2;ment  in  time;  so  is  the  judgment  in  the  verses 
before  us.  As  that  of  chap.  2  occurs  before  the  New  Testament 
kingdom  of  heaven  is  set  up;  precisely  so  should  this,  and  pre- 
cisely so  it  does,  as  will  be  seen  when  we  pass  on  from  this  judg- 
ment (vs.  9-11),  to  the  next  act  of  the  drama  (vs.  13,  14).  This 
latter  point  is  of  itself  an  independent  and  most  conclusive  argu- 
ment for  the  position  I  have  taken  in  regard  to  the  character  of 
this  judgment  scene.  Succession  in  the  several  points  of  this  vis- 
ion indicates  succession  in  time  as  to  the  events  predicted.  Hence 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  Son  of  Man  coming  to  the  Ancient 
of  Days  and  receiving  his  kingdom  follows  the  destruction  of  the 
fourth  beast  and  of  the  little  horn.  But  this  inauguration  of  the 
Son  of  Man  in  earth  and  especially  in  heaven,  occurred  at  his  as- 
cension, as  will  be  shown  when  the  passage  comes  under  consider- 
ation.  It  should  be  noted  that  the  interpretation  of  this  part  of 

the  vision  gives  the  same  order  of  events  ;  first,  the  judgment  of  God 
sits  to  destroy  the  little  horn,  and  then  the  kingdom  is  given  to  the 
saints  of  God  (vs.  26,  27). 

12.  As  concerning  the  rest  of  the  beasts  they  had  their 
dominion  taken  aAvay:  yet  their  lives  were  prolonged  for  a 
season  and  time. 

The  "rest  of  the  beasts"  are  the  first  threS.  The  thing  said  of 
them  here  is  that,  although  they  lost  their  supreme  dominion,  the 
scepter  over  the  kingdoms  of  the  East  passing  into  other  hands,  yet 
they  had  still  for  a  season  a  sort  of  existence  without  sovereignty. 
At  least  so  much  as  this  seems  to  be  implied,  viz.,  that  the  judg- 
ments of  God  did  not  fall  on  them  so  terribly  and  with  so  sudden 
devastation  as  on  the  fourth  beast.  It  is  plain  that  the  first  three 
are  contrasted  with  the  fourth.  V.  11  shows  that  the  fourth  beast 
came  to  his  fearful  doom  because  of  the  blasphemies  of  the  little 
horn-king.  It  is  fair  to  presume,  therefore,  that  at  the  time  this 
judgment  fell,  this  kingdom  was  represented  by  the  little  horn,  and 
hence  that  the  terribleness  of  this  judgment  pertains  especially  to 
him.  This  is  the  obvious  sense  of  the  entire  passage,  vs.  9-12,  and 
is  fully  confirmed  by  the  inspired  interpretation  (v.  24-27),  where 
it  is  tiie  little  horn-king  who  is  judged  and  slain,  and  then  next  in 
order  the  kingdom  is  given  to  Messiah  and  his  people. 

13.  I  saw  in  tlie  niglit  visions,  and,  behold,  one  like  tlic 
Son  of  man  came  w4tli  the  clouds  of  heaven,  and  came  to 
the  Ancient  of  days,  and  they  brought  him  near  before 
him. 

14.  And  there  was  given  him  dominion,  and  glory,  and 
a  kingdom,  that  all  people,  nations,  and  languages,  should 
serve  him:  his  dominion  is  an  everlasting  dominion,  which 
shall  not  pass  away,  and  his  kingdom  that  which  shall  not 
be  destroyed. 


348  DANIEL.— CHAP.  VII. 

This  passage  has  decisive  bearings  on  the  interpretation  of  this 
vision.     It  should  therefore  be  expounded  with  the  utmost  care. 

Its  vital  question  is,  Does  this  event  tahe  place  at  the  close  of 

Christ! s  first  advent^  or  shortly  after  his  second?  Does  this  passage 
describe  his  coming  to  set  up  his  New  Testament  "  Kingdom  of 
heaven;"  or,  on  the  contrary,  some  inauguration  of  Christ  as  King 
after  the  universal  resurrection  and  the  general  judgment?     One  or 

the  other  it  must  be. 1  hold  the  former  view  most  decidedly,  for 

the  reasons  that  follow. (1.)  This  kingdom  and  this  setting  up 

of  it  must  be  the  same  as  that  of  chap.  2 :  44.  There  was  a  king- 
dom which  should  "never  be  destroyed;"  "should  stand  forever;" 
should  not  pass  over  to  other  hands;  should  demolish  and  then 
supersede  all  that  had  been  named  before  it.  Here  is  a  kingdom 
universal,  everlasting,  and  never  to  pass  over  to  other  hands.  This 
is  the  fifth  kingdom  of  this  vision :  that  is  the  fifth  in  that.     The 

identity  is  complete. (2.)  That  kingdom  and  this  too  are,  beyond 

all  question,  the  very  "kingdom  of  God"  (otherwise  called  "king- 
dom of  heaven"),  of  which  so  much  is  said  in  the  New  Testament. 
The  reader  is  referred  to  the  argument  on  this  point  in  the  notes  on 

chap.  2 :  44. (3.)  The  NewTestament  determines  the  precise  point 

of  Christ' s  inauguration  over  this  kingdom  to  be  at  his  ascension.  For 
when  John  Baptist  and  our  Lord  began  to  preach,  they  both  said  in  the 
same  identical  words,  "  The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand."  During 
Christ's  public  ministry,  even  down  to  his  death,  he  continually  speaks 
of  it  as  very  near,  on  one  occasion  saying;  "The  time  is  fulfilled" 
(]Mark  1 :  15).  Immediately  before  his  death,  and  also  after  it  and 
before  his  ascension,  he  speaks  of  this  regal  power  as  already  given 
him,  although  the  public  inauguration  in  heaven  was  yet  really  future, 
saying  in  his  prayer  (Jn.  17:  2),  "As  thou  hast  given  him  power 
over  all  flesh;"  and  to  his  disciples  shortly  before  his  ascension 
(Mat.  28:  18),  "All  power  is  given  unto  me  in  heaven  and  in 
earth."     It  need  not  surprise  us  that  he  should  thus  anticipate  a 

great  event  which  was  so  near. After  his  ascension,  the  apostles 

with  one  voice  testify  that  Christ  has  now  become  really  King  and 
Lord  of  all.  They  preached  this  with  astonishing  effect  on  the  day 
of  Pentecost  (Ac.  2 :  33-3G) :  "  This  Jesus  hath  God  raised  up." 
"Being  by  the  right  hand  of  God  exalted,"  etc.  "God  hath  made 
that  same  Jesus  whom  ye  have  crucified  both  Lord  and  Christ." 
And  subsequently  (Ac.  5:  31);  "Him  hath  God  exalted  with  his 
right  hand  to  be  a  Prince  and  a  Savior  to  give  repentance  to  Is- 
rael," etc.  So  in  Peter's  first  Gentile  sermon  (Ac.  10:  3G);  "He  is 
Lord  of  all."  Further,  the  Epistles  definitely  locate  this  inaugura- 
tion immediately  after  his  resurrection  and  ascension;  e.  (/.,  Eph. 
1 :  20-22,  "  When  he  raised  him  from  the  dead  and  set  him  at  his 
own  right  hand  in  the  heavenly  places,  far  above  all  principality 
and  power  and  might  and  dominion,  and  every  name  that  is  named,- 
not  only  in  this  world,  but  also  in  that  which  is  to  come,  and  hath 
put  all  things  under  his  feet,  and  gave  him  to  be  head  over  all  things 
to  the  church,"  etc.  And  1  Pet.  3:  22;  "Who  is  gone  into  heaven 
and  is  on  the  right  hand  of  God,  angels  and  authorities  and  powers 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  VII.  349 

bcin^  made  subject  unto  him."  Compare  also  Jn.  3 :  35,  and  Mat. 
11:  27,  and  Rom.  14:  9,  and  Phil.  2:  9,  10,  and  Heb.  2:  9,  and 
1 :  3,  and  12 :  2,  and  Rev.  3 :  21,  and  17:  14.  Even  this  list  is  not 
exhaustive,  but  it  is  amply  sufficient. Remarkably,  the  scrip- 
tural record  of  our  Lord's  history  is  closely  continuous  from  his 
death  on  Calvary  to  his  completed  inauguration  on  the  throne  at 
the  right  hand  of  the  Father,  New  Testament  history  follows  him 
step  by  step  through  his  successive  manifestations  to  his  disciples 
during  forty  days,  until  at  length  he  led  them  out  to  Bethany;  the 
last  words  were  spoken;  he  lifted  up  his  hands  and  blessed  them; 
and  while  they  were  beholding,  he  was  taken  up  and  a  cloud  re- 
ceived him  out  of  their  sight.  Here  the  New  Testament  history  loses 
sight  of  him  for  the  moment,  for  their  strained  eyes  can  follow  him 
no  farther;  but  the  cloud  and  the  glorious  Personage  whom  it  em- 
bosomed were  caught  by  the  eye  of  Daniel  in  this  night-vision; 
"He  saw  and  behold  one  like  a  Son  of  man  came  with  the  clouds 
of  heaven  and  came  to  the  Ancient  of  Days ;  and  they  brought  him 
near  before  him,  and  there  was  given  him  dominion  and  glory  and 
a  kingdom" — universal,  never  to  be  transferred  to  other  hands,  and 
never  to  be  destroyed.  The  connection  is  complete;  Jesus  was  in- 
augurated as  king  and  seated  on  his  throne  immediately  upon  his 
ascension  to  heaven.  Then  and  thenceforward  the  empire  of  this 
world  is  his.  He  rules  it  in  the  interests  of  his  church  and  people. 
He  rules  it  to  convert  the  nations  to  himself  He  is  head  over  all 
things  for  the  sake  of  his  church — till  this  church  shall  embrace 
the  wide  earth,  and  "the  kingdoms  of  this  world  shall  become  the 
kingdom  of  our  Lord  and  of  his  Christ,  and  he  shall  reign  forever 
and  ever." 

Does  the.  question  arise.  Why  should  Christ  have  been  inaugu- 
rated then?  Was  he  not  "Lord  of  all"  before?  Were  not- the 
Avorlds  made  by  him  and  ruled  by  him  also  as  well  ?     And  was  not 

all  this  known  in  heaven  ? The  answer  is  involved  in  the  very 

language  of  Daniel;  "I  saw  one  like  a  Son  of  Man  coming  in  the 
clouds  of  heaven,"  etc.  Jesus,  as  incarnate.,  had  not  been  in  heaven 
before.  The  man  Jesus  had  not  been  visibly  recognized  there  up 
to  that  hour.  The  divine  Lord  of  all  appears  there  now  in  new  re- 
lations, and  it  was  fitting  that  in  these  new  relations  he  should  be 
publicly  recognized  and  duly. inducted  into  his  exalted  station  and 
dignity.  Hence  the  pertinence  of  Paul's  logic;  '■^  loherefore,"  (i.  e., 
because  Christ  Jesus  had  so  benevolently  and  sublimely  "humbled 
himself" — therefore)  "God  hath  highly  exalted  him  and  given  him 

a  name  above  every  name"  (Phil.  2:  9). (4).  But  yet  further: 

no  such  inauguration  occurs  at  his  second  coming.  It  would  be 
superfluous  to  repeat  its  forms  then;  nay,  more,  worse  than  super- 
fluous, since  it  would  practically  ignore  this  inauguration  and  im- 
peach its  validity — not  to  say  deny  its  reality.  But  we  are  not  left 
to  such  reasonings  however  strong;  the  silence  of  the  Bible  as  to 
any  such  inauguration  at  that  time  is  sufficient  to  explode  the  as- 
sumption. There  is  not  a  word  in  the  sacred  Scriptures  to  show 
any  inauguration  of  Christ  or  setting  up  of  his  kingdom  at  his 


350  DANIEL.— CHAP.  VII. 

second  advent.  Beyond  all  question,  therefore,  tins  inauguration  in 
our  passage  must  be  (as  above  explained)  that  which  immediately 

followed   his    ascension    and    first    advent. Consequently  these 

verses  give  us  a  definite  limit  over  which  the  fourth  l^east  and  his 
horns  (kings)  can  not  pass ; — prior  to  which  they  must  have  their.life 
and  meet  their  destruction.  This  limit  is  what  interpreters  call  tech- 
nically the  "terminus  ad  quem" — the  point  where  the  events  of  the 

vision  must  close,  and  below  which  in  time  they  can  not  extend. ■- 

It  is  every  thing  gained  for  the  just  and  sure  interpretation  of 
prophecy  when  we  are  able  to  fix  with  unerring  certainty  this 
■'terminus  ad  quem."  It  is  fixed  here  by  the  complete  identity 
between  tliis  inauguration  of  the  vSon  of  Man  seen  l)y  Daniel,  and 
the  same  event  located  by  the  New  Testament  at  his  ascension, 
connected  with  his  first  actvent.  For  it  can  not  be  reasonable  to 
evade  this  argument  by  dislocating  the  order  of  events  in  this  vision. 
This"  order  is  closely  consecutive.  The  inauguration  (vs.  13,  14), 
follows  the  destruction  of  the  fourth  beast  (vs.  9-11)  by  the  same 
law  by  which  the  fourth  beast  himself  follows  the  third;  the  third 
the  second;  and  the  second  the  first.  Nothing  but  capricious  vio- 
lence can  sever  this  consecutive  order. Moreover,  the  Angel- 
interpreter  (vs.  25-27)  gives  precisely  the  same  order  of  succession 
as  the  vision.  The  fourth  beast  develops  itself  into  the  little  horn, 
or  rather  the  little  horn  was  at  the  time  of  this  judgment  the 
reigning  king  in  this  fourth  kingdom.  Ys.  24  and  25  give  his  sins ; 
V.  26,  iiis  punishment;  v.  27,  the  subsequent  and  consequent  set- 
ting up  of  Messiah's  kingdom.  The  order  of  succession  here  is 
un(|uestionable  and  gives  its  whole  strength  to  confirm  the  same 

closely  consecutive  order  in  the  vision  (vs.  9-11  and  13,  14). It  is 

pleasant  to  notice  the  law  of  mental  association  by  which  the  mind 
of  the  Spirit  passes  from  the  judgment  and  destruction  of  the  fourth 
beast  and  little  horn  to  the  setting  up  of  Christ's  kingdom  and  to 
its  glorious  though  somewhat  remote  triumphs.  This  law  is  quite 
common  in  the  prophetical  writings.  Under  it  Isaiah  makes  use 
of  the  signal  destruction  of  the  invading  hosts  of  Assyria,  passing 
over  from  that  startling  event  to  the  far  more  grand  and  glorious 
victories  of  King  Messiah  in  the  latter  days.  See  Isa.  10:  28-34, 
with  chaps.  11  and  12.  lie  passes  in  the  same  way  (chaps.  34  and 
35)  from  the  fall  of  Idumea  to  the  victories  of  Messiah.  So  also 
does  Joel;  and  so  indeed  do  all  the  prophets.  The  course  of  thought 
is  this :  The  Lord  who  works  the  lesser  and  nearer  deliverance  can 
also  work  the  greater  and  more  remote.  The  poAver  that  can 
achieve  the  one  can  achieve  the  other.  The  love  and  care  for  his 
people  that  secure  the  one  secure  also  the  other.  The  will  and 
purpose  to  do  the. one  are  therefore  the  pledge  of  a  like  will  and 
purpose  to  do  the  other.  This  is  the  real  law  of  mental  connec- 
tion— the  course  of  logical  thought  that  links  the  latter  event  to  the 
former;  yet  the  minds  of  most  men  leap  from  the  former  class  of 
events  to  the  latter  by  spontaneous  inference.  Following  this  law 
of  mind,  the  Divine  Spirit  adapts  his  teachings  to  the  natural  course 
of  human  thou<^ht. 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  VII.  351 

"His  love  in  time  past 
Forbids  me  to  think 
He  '11  leave  me  at  last 
In  trouble  to  sink." 

So  Zion  cleaves  to  the  record  of  God's  marvelous  works  of  power 
and  grace  in  her  behalf  in  days  of  old,  and  builds  thereon  her  faith 
for  more  and  greater  works  in  exigencies  yet  to  come.  So  the  Lord 
himself  teaches  his  people. 

15.  I  Daniel  was  grieved  in  my  spirit  in  the  midst  of  my 
body,  and  the  visions  of  my  head  troubled  me. 

16.  I  came  near  unto  one  of  them  that  stood  by,  and 
asked  him  the  truth  of  all  this.  So  he  told  me,  and  made 
me  know  the  interpretation  of  the  things. 

Daniel  has  a  painful  sense  of  something  sorely  afflictive  to  the 
people  of  God  in  this  vision,  and  therefore  seeks  its  interpretation 
from  an  attendant  angel.  "Asked  him  the  truth,"  etc.,  does  not 
imply  that  ho  doubted  God's  veracity,  but  only  that  he  was  in  doubt 
what  this  truth  might  be.  It  was  the  substance  and  meaning,  and 
not  the  reliability,  that  he  sought  to  learn.  The  angel  kindly,  ex- 
plains. 

17.  These  great  beasts,  which  are  four,  are  four  kings, 
which  shall  arise  out  of  the  earth. 

18.  But  the  saints  of  the  Most  High  shall  take  the  king- 
dom, and  possess  the  kingdom  forever,  even  forever  and 
ever. 

This  first  explanation  is  exceedingly  brief — so  brief  that  it  dpes 
not  meet  Daniel's  felt  Avants,  and  he  therefore  proceeds  at  once  to 
make  his  inquiries  more  specific. The  word  used  here  in  ex- 
plaining the  meaning  of  the  beasts  is  king,  not  kingdom.  Yet  the 
more  full  and  specific  interpretation  (vs.  23,  24)  makes  them  defi- 
nitely kingdoms  and  the  horns  kings.  Beyond  all  question,  the 
whole  course  of  Daniel's  visions  in  chaps.  7  and  8  requires  this  con- 
struction— the  beasts,  kingdoms,  and  the  horns,  kings.  The  more 
full  and  precise  statements  must  prevail  over  the  one  that  is  more 

brief  and  general. The  nature  of  the  symbol  also  requires  this. 

The  king  finds  his  type  in  the  horn,  for  the  horn  is  the  executive  power 
of  the  beast,  but  has  no  power  apart  from  the  beast.  So  of  the  king. 
The  beasts  in  these  visions  are  nationalities,  embracing  many  kings 
in  succession. — ■ — Two  reasons  may  be  assigned  for  this  peculiar 

use  of  "king"  in  this  passage  instead  of  kingdom. (1.)  The  very 

l)revity  of  the  statement. (2.)  The  fact  that  (in  the  case  of  the 

first  three  especially)  each  kingdom  was  mainly  'embodied  in  one 
several  king;  Chaldea  in  Nebuchadnezzar;  the  Medo-Persian  em- 
pire, in  Cyrus;  the  Grecian,  in  Alexander.  So  far  forth  as  these 
successive  dynasties  afi"ected  the  ancient  people  of  God,  these  kings 
severally  were  every  thing.     To  all  practical  purposes,  they  were 


352  DANIEL.— CIIxVP.  VII. 

the  khigdoms.  And  with  nearly  as  much  propriety  may  the  same 
be  said  of  the  fourth.  So  far  as  it  affected  the  Jews,  it  was  chiefly 
embodied  in  Antiochus  Epiphanes. 

19.  Then  I  w^ould  know  the  truth  of  the  fourth  beast, 
which  was  diverse  from  all  the  others,  exceeding  dreadful, 
whose  teeth  were  oj  iron,  and  his  nails  of  brass ;  iv'hich  de- 
voured, brake  in  pieces,  and  stamped  the  residue  with  his 
feet ; 

20.  And  of  the  ten  horns  that  were  in  his  head,  and  of 
the  other  which  came  up,  and  before  whom  three  fell ;  even 
of  that. horn  that  had  eyes,  and  a  mouth  that  spake  very 
great  things,  whose  look  ivas  more  stout  than  his  fellows. 

21.  I  beheld,  and  the  same  horn  made  war  with  the  saints, 
and  prevailed  against  them  ; 

22.  Until  the  Ancient  of  days  came,  and  judgment  was 
given  to  the  saints  of  the  Most  High;  and  the  time  came 
that  the  saints  possessed  the  kingdom. 

Daniel  here  recites  that  part  of  the  vision  which  he  specially 
wishes  the  angel  to  explain.     It  is  that  which  relates  to  the  fourth 

beast,  his  ten  horns,  and  more  than  all,  that  little  horn. The 

word  rendered  "  stout,"  means  impudent,  arrogant. Daniel  seems 

already  to  understand  somewhat  more  than  is  distinctly  stated  in 
the  vision  as  he  gives  it,  (vs.  7,  8,)  this  for  instance;  that  "the  same 
horn  made  war  with  the  saints  and  prevailed  against  them."  The 
manner  of  introducing  this:  "I  beheld,"  etc.,  seems  to  imply  an- 
other scene  in  the  vision,  in  addition  to  those  narrated  vs.  2-14. 

It  Avill  be  noted  also  that  he  supposes  this  war  to  continue,  with 
success  on  the  side  of  this  horn,  "until  the  Ancient  of  Days  shall 
come"  (as  stated  vs.  9-10),  and  interpose  his  judgment  on  this  little 
horn-power  to  deliver  his  saints  and  give  them  the  kingdom.  This 
shows  Daniel's  idea  of  the  consecutive  order  of  these  events.  It 
seems  to  imply  also  that  he  expected  this  giving  of  the  kingdom  to 
the  saints  would  ensue  very  soon  after  the  destruction  of  the  little 
horn.  Yet  it  may  be  that  this  vision  did  not  aim  to  give  minutely  the 
intervals  between  great  and  somewhat  remote  events.  Tliey  may  be 
seen  in  vision  in  close  connection  because  of  their  mutual  relation  as 

cause  and  result,  and  not  because  of  their  close  relation  in  time. 

Or  we  might  say,  the  interval  between  the  destruction  of  the  little 
horn  and  the  giving  of  the  kingdom  to  Christ's  people  is  passed  in 
silence  and  practically  ignored  as  a  time-interval  because  there  was 
nothing  in  it  to  be  noticed ;  none  of  that  class  of  events  which  the 
vision  takes  note'  of.  The  series  of  great  world-monarchies,  sway- 
ing the  populations  of  Western  Asia  had  utterly  perished.  The 
Chaldean,  the  Medo-Persian,  the  Alexandrian-Greek,  and  everyone 
of  the  four  kingdoms  that  became  his  successors,  are  now  dead. 
They  have  gone  down  forever ;  and  on  that  territory,  of  that  class  of 
powers,  there  is  nothing  to  Buccccd  them.     Most  fitly  and  beauti" 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  VII,  o5o 

fully  therefore  does  the  spirit  of  prophecy  represent  the  kingdom 
of  the  Messiah  as  coming  next  upon  the  stage  and  supplanting  all 
these  world-monarchies,  to  stand  forever.  It  comes  next,  for  nothing 
of  the  sort  intervened  before  its  development  in  the  personal  advent 
of  Christ  and  his  triumphal  inauguration  as  king  at  his  ascension. 

23.  Thus  he  said,  The  fourth  beast  shall  be  the  fourth 
kingdom  upon  earth,  which  shall  be  diverse  from  all  king- 
doms, and  shall  devour  the  whole  earth,  and  shall  tread  it 
down,  and  break  it  in  pieces. 

24.  And  the  ten  horns  out  of  this  kingdom  are  ten  kings 
that  shall  arise :  and  another  shall  rise  after  them ;  and  he 
shall  be  diverse  from  the  first,  and  he  shall  subdue  three 
kings. 

25.  And  he  shall  speake  ^/rea^w^ords  against  the  Most  High, 
and  shall  wear  out  the  saints  of  the  Most  High,  and  think 
to  change  times  and  laws:  and  they  shall  be  given  into  his 
hand  until  a  time  and  times  and  the  dividing  of  time. 

This  explanation  is  of  prime  importance  in  the  interpretation  of 
this  vision.  The  main  points  made  in  it  are;  that  the  beasts  are 
kingdoms :  that  the  fourth  is  the  fourth  consecutive  kingdom,  diverse 
from  all  the  preceding  probably  in  the  respect  of  being  more  hostile 
to  the  Jews  while  they  are  the  recognized  people  of  God;  that  it 
should  devour  the  whole  earth,  making  widespread  devastations; 
that  its  ten  horns  are  ten  kings;  that  the  little  horn  is  yet  another 
king  arising  after  them,  diverse  from  the  preceding  ten;  and  here, 
also,  probably  diverse  in  the  point  of  more  bitter  hostility  to  God's 
people :  that  he  shall  speak  hano;hty  and  blasphemous  words  against 
God;  shall  wage  sore  and  wasting  wars  against  the  Jews  and  pur- 
pose to  subvert  their  religion — (for  a  Jewish  prophet  should  use 
this  language  in  such  a  connection  only  of  the  Mosaic  system,  and 
Jewish  readers  could  understand  by  it  nothing  else;)  and  finally, 
that  they  should  be  given  into  his  hand  so  that  he  would  effectually 
arrest  the  established  worship  of  the  sanctuary  during  three  and  a 
half  years.  This  construction  as  to  the  duration  of  this  period,  "  a 
time,  times  and  the  dividing  of  time,"  follows  Daniel's  use  of  the 
same  word  in  his  account  of  Nebuchadnezzar's  insanity  (chap.  4 : 
IG,  23,  25,  32),  where,  beyond  a  doubt,  a  "time"  means  a  year. 
But  this  point  will  be  resumed  at  a  later  stage  of  the  discussion. 

26.  But  the  judgment  shall  sit,  and  they  shall  take  away 
his  dominion  to  consume  and  to  destroy  it  unto  the  end. 

27.  And  the  kingdom  and  dominion,  and  the  greatness 
of  the  kingdom  under  the  whole  heaven,  shall  be  given  to 
the  people  of  the  saints  of  the  Most  High,  whose  kingdom 
is  an  everlasting  kingdom,  and  all  dominions  shall  serve 
and  obey  him.- 


354  DANIEL.— CHAP.  VII. 

This  "judgment"  interprets  the  scene  described  vs.  9-11,  and,  as 
already  suggested,  shows  that  it  fell  specially  on  the  little  horn 
who  ^Va8  largely  the  embodiment  and  impersonation  of  the  fourth 
kingdom.  The  fall  of  this  fourth  kingdom  is  soon  followed  by  the 
setting  up  of  the  Messiah's  kingdom  wliieli  is  represented  as  "  given 
to  the  people  of  the  saints  of  the  ^lost  High  "  because  they  arc  its 
instrumental  agents,  and  because  its  triumphs  are  identical  with 
their  real  success  and  prosperity. 

28.  Hitherto  is  the  end  of  the  mutter.  As  for  me  Dan- 
iel, my  cogitations  much  troubled  me,  and  my  countenance 
changed  in  me :  but  I  kept  the  matter  in  my  heart. 

Here  this  vision  and  its  interpretation  close.  Daniel  is  person- 
ally very  much  affected.  His  great  heart,  ever  intensely  anxious 
for  "his  people,"  feels  keenly  under  the  prophetic  view  of  their 
future  trials,  persecutions,  and  sufferings.  lie  thinks  intently  and 
with  troubled  thought;  but  having  no  pious  bosom  friend  near,  he 
"kept  the  matter  in  his  heart." 

Having  now  considered  the  sense  of  the  several  clauses  in  this 
chapter,  both  in  themselves  and  in  their  relations  to  each  other,  wc 
are  prepared  to  take  up  the  great  question  of  interpretation  upon 
which  critics  so  widely  differ,  viz..  What  is  the  fourth  kingdom^  and 

who  is  this  little  horjif Is  this  kingdom  Rome  Pagan,  and  this 

horn  Rome  Papal? Or,  is  the  fourth  kingdom  that  of  Alexan- 
der's successors;   and  the  little  horn,  Antiochus   Epiphanes? ■ 

These  are  the  only  theories  that  speciall}''  claim  attention.     Hence 

the  question  is  narrowed  down  to  a  choice  between  these. 1 

adopt  the  last-named  theory,  understanding  by  the  fourth  beast 
those  portions  of  the  cleft  empire  of  Alexander  which  lay  geograph- 
ically nearest  the  Jews,  with  whom  politically  they  stood  in  close 
and  potential  relations,  and  wdiich  chronologically  follow  imme- 
diately after  the  death  of  Alexander  and  continue  very  nearly  down 
to  the  coming  of  Christ.  These  were  primarily  and  chiefly  the 
Syrian  kingdom  founded  by  Seleucus  Nicator,  B.  C.  312,  and  much 
less  prominently  the  Egyptian,  founded  by  Ptolemy  Lagus,  B.  C 

323. This  theory  assumes  that  in  many   respects    the    fourth 

beast  and  all  his  horns  are  a  unit.     They  arc  so  in  being  alike 

portions  of  the  great  Grecian   emj^ire  of  Alexander,  also   in  the 

respect  of  being  Grecian  in  name,  in  language,  in  customs  and  in 

\   national  spirit;  and  more  than  all,  in  the  point  of  sustaining  the 

!  closest  foreign  relations  with  the  Jews. This  theory,  with  this 

\  view  of  its  import,  I  adopt, 

I.  Because  this  political  power  comes  in  the  natural  order  of 
succession.  It  hclds  this  place  of  natural  order,  (1.)  Chronolog- 
ically; (2.)  Geographically;  (3.)  Politically;  (4.)  In  respect  to  its 
relations  to  the  Jewish  people. 

(1.)  Chronologically,  Alexander's  successors  come  next  in  time. 
He  died  B.  C.  323.     The  Greco-Egyptian  kingdom  was  founded  in 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  VII.  355 

the  same  year.  The  Greco-Syrian — the  result  of  long  and  bloody 
wars,  became  settled  only  after  eleven  years  of  conflict.  Then  it 
became  the  most  potent  foreign  power  in  its  relations  to  the  Jews. 
On  the  contrary,  the  Roman  empire  came  into  no  important  re- 
lations to  the  Jews  until  the  Christian  era ;  never  disturbed  their 
repose  effectually  until  A.  D.  70 — nearly  four  hundred  years  after 
Alexander's  death,  and  bore  no  part  among  the  foreign  powers 
controlling  the  fortunes  of  the  Jews  until  they  aided  Herod  to  the 
Jewish  throne,  B.  C.  37;  {.  e.,  nearly  three  hundred  years  after  the 
death  of  Alexander.  Such  a  chronological  hiatus  should  not  be 
assumed  without  the  most  cogent  reasons.  It  is  "violently  improb- 
able." (2.)  Geographically,  the  Syrian  kingdom  appears  on  the 
same  territory  which  had  been  the  theater  and  home  of  the  Chal- 
dean, Medo-Persian,  and  essentially  of  the  Grecian  empires.  But 
Rome  belonged  to  an  entirely  diffei'ent  and  then  nearly  unknown 
part  of  the  world.  Rome  never  was  Asiatic,  never  was  Oriental; 
never  therefore  was  a  legitimate  successor  of  the  first  three  of  these 

great  empires. (3.)  Politically,  these  kingdoms,  Syria  and  Eg^^pt, 

should  be  the  fourth  beast,  especially  Syria,  because  made  up  of 
the  same  nationalities — the  same  tribes,  nations,  and  peoples — that 
composed  successively  the  Chaldean,  the  Medo-Persian,  and  the 
Grecian  empires.  As  these  successively  were  composed  in  large 
measure  of  the  same  populations,  only  recast  and  clustering  round 
a  ncAv  political  center,  covering  essentially  the  same  territory;  so 
this  fourth  kingdom  should  be  sought  on  the  same  territory,  among 

the  same  populations. Rome  had  the  seat  of  her  power  and  the 

masses  of  her  population  in  another  and  remote  part  of  the  world. 

(4.)  But  especially  should  this  complex  power  be  the  fourth 

beast  and  kingdom  of  Daniel,  l)ecause  it  stood  in  close  proximity  to 
the  Jews,  in  fact  embosoming  it  on  the  south  and  on  the  north,  and 
constituting  the  foreign  nations  with  which  JewS  stood  in  the  closest 
relations  of  war  or  peace.  The  genius  and  scope  of  this  vision  de- 
mand that  this  fourth  beast  should  represent  such  nations,  and 
utterly  forbid  us  to  think  of  a  power  far  away  in  the  recesses  of 
Europe,  and  which  in  the  period  in  question,  i.  e.,  during  the  three 
centuries  ouAvard  from  B.  C.  323,  had  absolutely  nothing  to  do  with 
the  fortunes  of  the  Jewish  people. 

II.  This  theory  follows  the  analogy  of  tRe  first  three  kingdoms. 

1  have   already  presented  this  as  one  of  the  laws  by  which 

these  visions  should  be  interpreted; — the  parts  less  fully  explained 
should  follow  the  analogy  of  the  parts  more  fully  explained.  The 
fourth  beast  should  follow  the  analogy  of  the  first  three.  Since 
there  remains  no  doubt  as  to  the  meaning  of  the  first  three,  let  us 
carefully  gather  up  all  ^xe  can  learn  there  and  apply  it  to  the  inter- 
pretation of  the  fourth.  Why  not? Now,  the  first  three  king- 
doms stand  in  the  closest  political  relations  to  the  Jews.  In  fact, 
they  are  here  for  this  reason  and  no  other.  The  great  moral  les- 
sons which  these  four  parallel  visions  address  to  Daniel's  people 
begin  with  and  grow  out  of  these  historic  facts; — The  great  k'mg- 
donis  xoh'ich  successivelij  overshadow  your  nationality^  -Under  which  you 


356  DANIEL— CHAP.  VIL 

sigh  in  cajjiivity^  or  live  in  dependent  subjection,  or  against  ivhich  you 
war  for  your  very  existence,  or  for  the  faith  and  worship  of  your 
fathers, — sliall  soon   be  subverted  and  swept    away,   and   Messiah's 

Icingdom  take  their  place  and  fill  all  the  earth. Con8C({ucntly  the 

lirst  three  kingdoms  tare  precisely  those  under  which  the  Jews  lived. 
Analogy  requires  that  the  fourth  should  bear  the  same  relations. 
Again,  of  the  first  three,  each  follows  closely  upon  his  prede- 
cessor, the  ]\redo-rersian  subverting  and  succeeding  the  Chaldean, 
B.  C.  538 ;  the  Grecian  in  like  manner  subverting  and  succeeding 
the  Medo-Pcrsian,  B.  C.  335-323.  The  powers  that  closely  suc- 
ceeded the  death  of  Alexander,  and  were  the  persecutors,  or,  as  the 
case  may  be,  the  protectors,  of  the  Jews,  were  the  Egyptian,  founded 
in  the  same  year,  and  the  Syrian,  which  became  established  eleven 
years  later.  These,  then,  must  answer  by  analogy  to  the  fourth 
beast. — =— As  those  first  three  covered  substantially  the  same  terri- 
tory, so  by  analogy  should  the  fourth.     On  this  theory  it  does. 

But  every  point  of  this  analogy  forbids  us  to  think  of  Rome  Pagan 
as  the  fourth  beast,  and  much  more,  of  Kome  Papal  as  the  little 
horn. 

III.  The  fourth  beast,  or  rather  the  little  horn,  one  of  its  kings, 
assails  the  Jewish  religion  and  aims  to  subvert  it.  This  must  be 
the  sense  of  the  passage,  "  He  shall  wear  out  the  saints  of  the 
Most  High  and  think  to  change  times  and  laws."  The  only  "  times 
and  law"  (the  Chaldee  is  singular)  known  to  Daniel  and  to  his 
first  readers,  were  those  of  the  Jewish  ritual  service.     This  lan- 

fuage  must  therefore  refer  to  Judaism.  "  The  saints  of  the  IMost 
[igh,"  so  sorely  pressed  and  exhausted  by  this  king,  must  have 
been  Jews — in  the  age  before  Christ.  All  just  principles  of  inter- 
pretation compel  us  to  apply  this  language  to  an  attack  on  Jews 
and  Judaism  while  the  latter  was  in  force ;  and  forbid  us  to  apply 
it  to  Papal  Rome.  The  books  of  Maccabees  constantly  use  the 
phrase,  "change  the  law,"  or  "the  laws,"  for  the  very  change 
which  Antiochus  sought  to  bring  about. 

IV.  The  more  terrible  beast  is  manifestly  such  mainly  because 
of  his  hostility  against  the  people  of  Daniel  and  their  divinely 
authorized  system  of  worship.  This  point  has  been  already  ad- 
duced. In  respect  to  malignity  against  the  Jewish  religion,  he  is 
diverse  from  all  the  other  l)easts.  Especially  is  this  true  of  the 
little  horn-king.  Indeed,  this  horn  is  seen  first  in  the  fourth  beast, 
and  subsequently  developed  out  of  it,  and  seen  in  his  own  individ- 
uality. For  his  sins,  the  fourth  beast  is  "  destroyed  and  given  to 
the  burning  flame."     On  him  specially  the  terrible  judgments  of 

(Jod  fell. All  this,  and  specially  its  obvious  relations  to  Judaism, 

utterly  fail  of  application  to  Papal  Rome.  Applied  to  Antiochus 
Epiphanes,  it  is  precisely  his  Jiistory — as  will  erelong  be  more 
fully  shown. 

V.  The  application  of  the  "  terminus  ad  quern"  is  decisive.  The 
limit  below  which  none  of  these  beasts  or  their  horns  can  be  found, 
is  the  ascension  of  Christ  and  his  inauguration  as  king.  All  the 
special,  definite  points   embraced  in  this  vision,  not  only  all  that 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  VII.  357 

relate  to  the  first  three  beasts,  but  also  all  that  relate  to  the  fourth 
and  to  his  horns,  must  precede  this  giving  of  the  kingdom  to  Christ 
and  to  his  people.  No  part  of  this  vision  comes  after  that  "  giving,'' 
except  the  general  facts  of  the  eternal  duration  and  universal  sway 
of  this  kingdom.     Of  the  details  given  in  the  vision,  no  other  occurs 

subsequent  to  the  ascension  of  Christ. ^It  is,  therefore,  simply 

impossible  that  the  Koman  theory  can  be  true.  It  is  undet  the 
sternest  demands  of  the  laws  of  interpretation  thai  the  fourth  beast 
represents  the  dominion  of  Alexander's  successors,  and  the  little 
horn,  Antiochus  Epiphanes. 

VI.  There  are  yet  other  arguments  of  no  small  weight.  The  two 
remaining  visions — that  of  chap.  8  and  that  of  chaps.  10-12 — are  yet 
to  be  considered.  In  its  place  I  intend  to  examine  carefully  the 
indications  that  they  are  parallel  to  this,  and  therefore  confirm  the 
interpretation  given  of  this.  Each  of  those  visions  gives  a  much 
more  full  account  than  this  of  the  vital  point — the  little  horn-power. 
We  shall  find  on  examination  that  every  feature  given  of  the  little 
horn  here  -is  found  there,  only  in  general  more  fully  expanded  and 
with  additional  but  never  with  conflicting  points.  Nothing  beyond 
this  can  be  reasonably  asked  to  prove  identity.  But' this  argument 
need  not  be  anticipated  further  in  this  place. 

VII.  It  is  altogether  in  favor  of  this  Antiochean  theory  that  it 
requires  no  violation  of  the  laws  of  prophetic  language  in  respect 
to  notations  of  time.  The  "time,  times,  and  dividing  of  time,"  I 
simply  make  three  and  a  half  years,  following  Daniel's  own  use  of 
these  words  in  chap.  4:  16,  23,  25,  32,  How  fitly  this  applies  to 
Antiochus  Epiphanes,  desecrating  the  sanctuary  and  holding  it  des- 
olate three  and  a  half  years,  will  be  shown  in  its  place.  In  its 
place  also  I  shall  call  special  attention  to  the  baseless  theory  that 
in  prophecy  all  notations  of  time  must  be  multiplied  by  three  hun- 
dred and  sixty  to  get  actual  time.     See  Appendix  A, 

VIII.  This  theory  adequately  meets  the  demands  of  history.  Its 
complete  fulfillment,  proven  without  violence  to  the  laws  of  inter- 
pretation on  the  one  hand,  or  to  the  facets  of  history  on  the  other, 

closes  the  argument  in  its  support. Legitimately  the  argument 

from  historic  fulfillment  should  always  come  last  in  order.  The 
full'  sense  of  the  prophecy  should  be  obtained  from  other  sources 
than  conjectural  hypothetic  fulfillment.  This  done,  a  facile,  natu- 
ral fulfillment  comes  in  to  close  the  argument  and  place  it  beyond 
controversy  or  doubt.  The  capital  vice  in  many  interpretations  of 
these  prophecies  has  lain  in  the  violation  of  this  rule.  Some  fore- 
gone theory  of  fulfillment  has  superseded  all  other  laws  of  inter- 
pretation, and  has  been  allowed  to  shape  and  fix  the  sense  of  words 
and  phrases,  often  in  palpable  violation  of  the  laws  of  Hebrew 
speech — not  to  say,  of  all  speech.  Hence  an  untold  amount  of 
caprice,  speculation,  and  palpable  violation  of  very  obvious   laws 

of  language, But  to  our  point. 1,   Fulfillment  verifies  the 

interpretation  given  above  of  the  first  three  beasts.  The  Chaldean 
kingdom  under  Nebuchadnezzar  was,  among  the  nations  of  the 
East,  a  lion  with  eagle's  wings.     Under  Bclshazzar,  his  wings  were 


858  DANIEL.— CHAP.  VII. 

plucked,  his  courage  gone ;  he  had  no  longer  the  power  to  stand 

before. a  fierce  northern  bear.     This  is  history. The  Medo-Per- 

sian  power  followed  immediately,  pushing  its  conquests  westward 
and  southward,  "devouring  much  llesh,"  supplanting  and  succeed- 
ing the  Chaldean  empire,  and  especially,  coming  into  the  same 
close  political  relations  to  the  Jews,  and  sustaining  them  during 

the  period  B.  C.  53^-337.      This  too  is  history. The  Grecian 

empire  of  Alexander  comes  next,  swiftly  subverting  the  Medo-Per- 
sian,  and  becoming  during  its  short  continuance  the  protector  of 
the  Jews.     So  far  history  simply  translates  the  obvious  sense  of 

these  prophetic  symbols. 2.   With  equal   facility,  on  the  same 

principles,  in  the  same  line  of  thought  and  course  of  analogy,  his- 
tory verifies  the  interpretation  above  given  of  the  fourth  beast.  He 
represents  the  powers  that  immediately  followed  Alexander  and  lay 
contiguous  to  the  Jews,  standing  toward  them  in  close  political  re- 
lations.  Out  of  the  cleft  empire  of  Alexander  the  Great  arose 

two  kingdoms,  Egypt  on  the  south,  and  Syria  on  the  north  of  Pales- 
tine, between  whom  the  Jews  alternated  in  their  allegiance,  greatly 
dependent  for  their  political  welfare  upon  their  relations  of  peace 
or  war  with-  these  adjacent  powers.  Of  these  two,  the  Syrian, 
founded  by  Seleucus  Nicator  B.  C.  312,  was  the  stronger  and  by 
far  the  more  terrible  to  the  Jews.  It  is  this  kingdom  that  mainly 
constitutes  the  fourth  beast  and  fills  out  the  prophetic  description. 
The  kingdom  of  Egypt  is  qmte  subordinate;  yet  because  of  its 
close  political  relations  to  the  Jews,  but  yet  more,  because  it  cer- 
tainly appears  in  the  more  full  predictions  in  chap.  11,  it  can  not 
be  altogether  excluded.  Both  were  fragments  of  the  great  empire 
of  Alexander;  both  were  among  his  successors;  both  were  Grecian 
in  language,  customs  and  general  character.  Each  in  turn  were 
in  close  relations  of  alliance  and  of  protection  or  oppression  as  to 

the  Jews.     The  Syrians  had  long  wars  with  them. These  points 

substantially  constitute  the  conditions  of  the  prophecy  to  which  the 

facts  of  history  should  and  do  correspond. The  Syrian  kingdom 

was  great,  and  terrible,  relatively  to  the  Jews ;  and  not  only  so,  it 
was  great  absolutely,  and  its  founder  was  a  great  conqueror  and  a 
terrible  scourge  upon  the  nations  of  the  East.  From  the  testimony 
of  Justin,  Arrian,  and  Appian,  it  appears  that  he  was  called  ''  Nieafor  " 
(the  conqueror)  on  account  of  his  gaining  so  many  great  victories; 
that  he  obtained  the  most  extensive  dominion  and  became  the 
greatest  king  after  Alexander;  and  that  he  ruled  over  all  Western 
Asia  from  the  Hellespont  to  India — those  very  countries  which  for 
nearly  three  hundred  years  had  been  the  seat  of  empire  for  the 

three   great  prophetic   dynasties   before   him. Further,   Daniel 

himself  recognizes  his  greatness,  using  the  very  same  language  of 
his  dominion  as  of  Alexander's.  The  latter  "  shall  rule  with  great 
dominion"  (chap.  11:  3).     Of  the  former,  Seleucus  Nicator,  he  says 

(cliap.   11:  5),  "His  dominion  shall  be  a  great  dominion." The 

era  of  the  Seleucidjx;  dates  from  the  beginning  of  his  reign  H.  C. 

312,  or  as  some  nations  held  it,  B.  C  311. These  two  kingdoms 

and  especially  the  Syrian,  fill  the  right  place  for  the  fourth  beast' 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  VII.  359 

territorially,  politically,  chronologically,  and  in  the  line  of  special 
relations  to  the  Jews.  They  come  in  immediately  after  Alexander 
and  pass  away  before  the  Son  of  man  receives  his  everlastiuo;  king- 
dom.  So  much  for  the  fourth  beast. But  what  of  the  ten 

horns  ? It  is  remarkable  that  very  many  interpreters  seem  to 

have  had  no  guide  in  searching  for  the  horns  of  this  fourth  beast 
save  mere  conjecture.  The  process  has  been  tentative — to  go  forth 
into  the  broad  field  of  history,  and  find  somewhere  ten  kings  or 
ten  kingdoms  that  seem  to  cluster  easily  together,  and  conscript 
them. into  service  to  do  duty  on  this  beast  of  Daniel.  Probably  a 
score  of  different  expositions  could  be  found  among  those  who  adopt 
the  Roman  theory,  who  (by  the  way)  universally  make  the  horns  king- 
doms, not  kings,  and  European  kingdoms  at  that  (utterly  at  variance 
with  God's  own  interpretation),  some  of  them  counting  off  their  ten 
kingdoms  in  the  fifth  century ;  some  finding  other  ten  in  the  sixth ; 
and  some  yet  another  ten  at  some  point  along  the  middle  ages, 

etc.     Scarcely  any  two  commentators  fix  upon  the  same  set. 

Another  score  could  probably  be  found  of  those  who  adopt  the 
Grecian  theory,  who  usually  look  for  kings,  not  kingdoms — in  so 
far,  following,  and  not  disregarding  the  divine  interpreter.  Some 
assume  that  they  were  contemporary,  and  look  for  them  among  the 
rival  claimants  for  the  throne  and  dominion  of  Akxander  the  Great; 
others  think  them  consecutive,  and  look  for  them  in  the  Syrian  line 
only,  down  to  Antiochus  Epiphanes ;  others  select  out  of  the  two 
kingdoms,  Egypt  and  Syria,  the  number  of  ten  who  bore  the  most 
intimate  relations  to  the  Jews.     It  would  be  tedious  to  recite  these 

lists  and  could  »ot  be  very  profitable. In  view  of  them  all,  I 

have  it  to  say,  that  if  there  were  no  better  clew,  I  should  adopt  the 
one  last  named  as  being  most  in  harmony  with  the  scope  of  the 
vision;  viz.,  select  ten  consecutive  kings,  falling  betv/een  the  death 
of  Alexander  and  the  rise  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes  who  came  most 
into  contact  with  the  Jews,  and  who  most  fully  represented  the  re- 
lationship of  the  Jewish  nation  to  foreign  powers. But, there  is 

nO  occasion  to  throw  ourselves  upon  conjecture  at  all.  There  is  no 
occasion  even  to  do  the  next  best  thing — take  the  clew  just  referred  to 
and  trace  out  those  kings  of  Egypt  or  Syria  whose  agency  was  most 
vital  for  good  or  evil  to  the  fortunes  of  the  Jews.  For  the  selec- 
tion is  substantially  made  ready  to  our  hand  in  Daniel's  last  vision. 
There,  dropping  all  figure  and  symbol,  he  gives  us  the  very  kings 
themselves.  So  clear  is  this  description  that  the  great  body  of  com- 
mentators have  followed  the  same  track  of  interpretation  and  name 
these  kings  as  they  occur  (chap.  11:  5-27)  in  precisely  the  same 
way.  The  wonder  is  that  \\^th  so  much  agreement  in  respect  to 
these  kings,  no  commentator  within  my  knowledge  seems  to  have 
counted  them  or  to  have  noticed  that  the  kings  of  any  prominence 

in  this  narrative  prophecy  are  ten.     But  such  is  the  fact. In 

this  prophecy  (chap.  11,)  which  bears  from  beginning  to  end  the 
appearance  of  being  explanatory  of  the  visions  in  chap.  7  and  8, 
these  ten  kings  lie  in  their  order,  filling  precisely  the  interval  be- 
tween the  death  of  Alexander  and  the  rise  of  the  little  horn,  An- 


360  DANIEL.— CHAP.  VII. 

tiochus  Epiphanes.  How  then  can  we  doubt  that  these  are  the  ten 
kings  (horns)  of  this  fourth  beast?  They  come  to  us  named  and 
defined  on  the  highest  possible  authority — that  of  the  revealing 
Spirit  himself  Let  us  accept  them  and  so  end  the  long  contro- 
versy, and  invite  to  harmony  and  peace  the  immenscl}^  diversified 

opinions  of  those  who  have   sought   to   find  these  ten  horns. 

When  1  come  to  treat  of  chap.  11,  it  will  be  more  in  place  to  give 
the  history  of  these  kings  with  some  detail.  Suffice  it  here  to  say 
that  five  of  them  are  k^ngs  of  the  south,  in  the  Greco-Egyptian 
dynasty,  viz.,  Ptolemy  Lagus  in  v.  5;  Ptolemy  Philadelphus  in  v.  6; 
Ptolemy  Euergetcs  in  vs.  7-9:  Ptolemy  Philopater  in  vs.  11,   12, 

and  Ptolemy  Philometer  in  vs.  25-27. Five  of  them  are  kings 

of  the  north,  in  the  Greek-Syrian  dynasty;  viz.,  Seleucus  Nicator 
in  V.  5 ;  Antiochus  Theos  in  v.  6 ;  Seleucus  Callinicus  in  vs.  7,  8 ; 
Antiochus  the  Great,  vs.  10-19;  and  Seleucus  Philopator  in  v.  20. 
This  brings  us  in  the  line  of  chap.  11,  to  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  the 
little  horn-king,  making  a  perfect  correspondence  in  respect  to  all 
the  vital  points  of  the  case  between  this  vision  of  chap.  7  and  that 
of  chap.  11.  But  this  parallelism  will  be  more  fully  brought  out 
when  chap.  11  shall  come  under  consideration  in  its  order.  Suffice 
it  to  say  here  that  these  parallel  prophecies  of  Daniel  mutually  sus- 
tain each  other,  a  fact  which  will  become  more  abundantly  mani- 
fest hereafter. Moreover,  as  we  proceed  in  developing  this  theory 

of  interpretation,  every  point  is  amply  confirmed  by  the  historic 
facts.  These  ten  kings  sustained  specially  important  relations  to 
the  Jews.  It  was  because  of  these  relations  that  they  find  a  place 
in  the  eleventh  chapter. As  to  the  number  of  these  kings  com- 
prised in  both  the  Egyptian  and  Syrian  kingdoms,  from  their  foun- 
dation down  to  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  the  question  will  arise,  Does 
the  prophecy  (Dan.  11 :  5-27)  touch  them  all,  and  were  there  actu- 
ally but  ten  ? To  this  I  answer :  From  the  full  list  of  those  two 

dynasties  during  the  period  specified,  I  omit  one  Egyptian  king, 
Ptolemy  Epiphanes,  put  upon  the  throne  at  the  age  of  five  years, 
and  never  any  thing  but  a  tool  for  others  to  use ;  and  two  Syrian 
kings;  one,  the  second  in  the  series,  Antiochus  Soter,  he  being  in- 
tentionally passed  over  in  the  prophecy  which  leaps  a  chasm  of  at 
least  thirty-two  years  by  saying  (chap.  11:  C)  "In  the  end  of 
years,"  etc.  Here  and  thus  the  sketch  passes  unnoticed  the  entire 
reign  of  Anti.  Soter.  I  therefore  omit  him.  The  other  Syrian  king 
omitted  reigned  but  two  years  (Seleucus  Ceraunus),  and  did  noth- 
ing to  entitle  him  to  notice  in  this  prophecy.  AVith  these  excep- 
tions, the  list  of  ten,  as  above  named,  includes  not  only  all  that  are 
spoken  of  in  this  prophetic  sketch,  but  all  that  appear  in  the  full 
tables  of  those  kings.  Such  omissions  as  these  justify  themselves. 
The  prophetic  sketch  touches  only  those  whose  exploits  were  worthy 
of  notice.  These  are  ten  in  number.  Yet  it  may  wcll.be  said  that 
ten  is  often  a  round  number ;  so  that  if  there  had  been  in  fiict 
cither  nine  or  eleven,  it  should  create  no  difficulty  if  the  number 
had  been  spoken  of  as  ten. ^Thc  little  horn  is  Antiochus  Epiph- 
anes.    Wo  shall  see  much  more  of  him  in  chap.  8  and  chap.  J 1, 


DANIEL.— CIIxVP.  VII.  361 

and  his  history  will  be  given  more  fully  there.  It  may  properly  be 
said  here,  in  anticipation  of  its  proof,  that  with  one  exception  every 
several  feature  of  his  character,  exploits,  and  destiny,  given  here  in 
chap.  7,  is  brought  out  and  consequently  confirmed  in  the  descrip- 
tion given  of  him  in  chap.  8,  and  again  yet  more  in  chap.  11.  The 
points  made  here  are  expanded  there,  and  some  new  points  added, 
but  nothing  is  diverse ;  not  a  line,  not  a  shade  of  coloring  appears 
there  that  does  not  fit  perfectly  to  the  outline  first  drawn  here  in 
chap.  7.  So  that  the  fact  of  parallelism  will  appear  with  such  a 
sort,  variety,  and  amount  of  evidence  as  constitute  complete  demon- 
stration.  Let  it  also  be  said  here  (to  be  shown  more  fully  here- 
after) that  history  confirms  all  these  points  of  his  character,  ex- 
ploits, and  destiny.  He  was  a  most  bitter  persecutor  and  deadly 
foe  of  the  Jewish  nation ;  he  did  assail  their  religion  with  the  fell 
purpose  of  uprooting  it  from  the  earth ;  he  did  speak  both  blasphe- 
mously and  pi-oudly  against  Almighty  God.  He  know  he  was  fight- 
ing against  the  God  of  Israel,  and  when  at  last  he  fell,  the  stings 
of  remorse  in  his  awakened  conscience  bore  their  testimony  that 
God  had  conquered  and  that  his  own  malign  purposes  were  utterly 
blasted.  The  special  unfolding  of  these  facts  of  his  history  should 
naturally  be  reserved  till  we  come  to  the  more  full  prophetic  detail 
in  chaps.  8  and  11. A  few  points  however  may  be  as  well  pre- 
sented here. (1.)   Tliree  of  the  first  horns  removed  before  the  little 

horn. In  his  first  account  of  the  vision  Daniel  said  (v.  8),  "  I 

considered  the  horns  and  behold  there  came  up  among  them  a  little 
horn  before  whom  there  were  three  of  the  first  horns  plucked  up 
by  the  roots."  Daniel  inquired  particularly  respecting  this  feature, 
"of  the  other  that  come  up  and  before  whom  three  fell"  (v.  20). 
The  interpretation  states  (v.  24),  '•  and  he  shall  subdue  three  kings." 
He  does  not  say  in  the  most  precise  language,  three  of  those  ten 
kings ;  yet  this  is  the  more  obvious  meaning,  and  is  required  by 
the  language  of  the  vision,  "  Three  of  the  first  horns  Avere  plucked 
up."  The  original  word  rendered  "  subdue,"  means  to  humble,  to 
bring  down. This  is  the  point  which  I  excepted  from  the  gen- 
eral statement  that  all  the  points  made  of  the  little  horn  in  chap. 
7,  appear  also  in  chaps.  8  and  11.     This  point  is  not  in  chap.  8.     It 

does  appear,  however,  in  a  very  peculiar  way  in  chap. '11. This 

vision  (chap.  7)  obviously  means  that  three  of  the  first  horns  were 
in  some  special  manner  put  out  of  the  way  of  this  little  horn.  Only 
the  last  statement,  "he  shall  subdue,"  etc.,  necessarily  involves  any 

active  agency  of  the  little  horn  in  their  removal. Who  are  these 

three  kings  ?     Do  they  appear  in  history  and  in  such  a  way  as  to 

verify  this   minute  statement? On  this  question  commentators 

have  diflered  widely — a  natural  result  of  their  differing  so  widely 

over  the  ten  horns. As  above  explained,  1  find  these  ten  horns 

precisely  in  chap.  11 :  5-27.  The  little  horn  also  is  there,  his  his- 
tory filling  twenty-five  verses,  viz.,  vs.  21-45.  But  of  the  three 
kings  that  he  "subdued;"  that  "were  plucked  up,"  or  that  "fell 
before  him,"  the  history  of  only  one  is  given  here  so  fully  and 
specifically  as  to  show  tliat  this  "vile  kins;,"  alias  the  little  horn, 
16 


362  DANIEL.— CHAP.  VII. 

had  an  active  agency  in  subduinc!;  him.  This  one  is  Ptolemy  Phi- 
lometor  of  Eg^^pt  (vs.  25-27)  of  whom  this  passapje,  after  giving  the 
history  of  their  conflicts  and  wars,  says,  ''he  shall  not  stand" 
{i.  c,  he  shall  fall)  before  Antiochiis.  This  very  Ijrief  historic 
prophecy  does  speak,  however,  of  the  death  of  two  others  as  being 
somewhat  peculiar  and  remarkable.  Of  Antiochiis  the  (ireat,  it 
records,  "he  shall  stumble  and  fall  and  shall  not  be  found."  This 
king  was  the. father  of  Autiochus  Epiphanes.  Of  the  next,  his 
brother  Seleucus  Philopator,  "  a  raiser  of  taxes,"  and  his  imme- 
diate predecessor  on  the  throne,  the  record  says;  "But  within  a 
few  days  he  shall  be  destroyed,  neither  in  anger  nor  in  battle." 
l>ut  in  neither  of  these  cases  is  it  said  that  Antiochus  Epiphanes 
was  in  any  way  the  cause  of  his  death.  Still  the  fact  that  the  man- 
ner of  their  death  is  hinted  at  in  this  somewhat  enigmatic  way, 
taken  in  connection  with  the  prophecy  that  before  this  little  horn 
three  of  the  first  horns  should  be  plucked  up  by  the  roots,"  and 

"should  fall,"   is  surely  very  noticeable. Does  profane  history 

give  any  hint  that  Antiochus  Epiphanes  was  concerned  in  the  death 
of  either  Antiochus  the  Great,  his  father,  or  of  Seleucus  Philo- 
pator, his  brother? It  is  stated  in  Poole's  Synopsis  that  Anti- 
ochus the  Great  came  to  his  death  in  a  drunken  frolic,  under 
these  circumstances :  In  a  state  of  intoxication,  he  had  abused 
certain  persons  and  thereby  incurred  their  ill-will.  His  son,  this 
Antiochus  Epiphanes,  took  advantage  of  their  exasperated  feel- 
ings and  instigated  them  to  mob  and  murder  his  own  father! 
One  ancient  author,  Aurelius  Victor,  states  that  he  died  in  this 
way.  On  the  other  hand  Strabo  and  Justin  concur  in  stating 
that  he  fell  in   an  attempt  to  pillage  a  rich  temjjle  of  Belus  in 

Elymais.     The  weight  of  historic   evidence  is  for  this  view. 

Of  his  brother,  Seleucus  Philopator,  Grotius  states  that  he  was  slain 
by  Antiochus  Epiphanes  or  by  his  order.  It  is  said  this  vile  king 
caused  him  to  be  poisoned,  hiyj  and  Appian,  however,  attribute  his 
murder  by  poison  to  Ileliodorus,  who  seems  to  have  aspired  to  the 

throne  for  himself. The  weight  of  historical  evidence  seems  to 

exonerate  Antiochus  Epiphanes  from  direct  participation  in  the 
death  of  either  his  father  or  his  elder  brother.  Yet  this  evidence 
is  somewhat  conflicting,  and  perhaps  can  not  be  legarded  as  decisive. 
Antiochus  was  artful  enough  to  keep  his  active  hand  out  of  sight. 
He  was  wicked  enough  for  the  most  unnatural  crimes,  provided 
only  that  they  promised  to  favor  his  ambitious  schemes.  The  fact 
that  he  is  called  (chap.  11 :  21)  "a  vile  person,"  in  such  close  prox- 
imity Avith  the  extraordinary  deaths  of  the  two  kings  next  before 

him  on  the  Syrian  throne,  may  be  significant. Finally,  the  form 

of  the  statement — three  distinct  horns  ^^ plucked  up  before  him" — 
makes  room  for  some  diversity  in  the  manner  of  the  thing  and  par- 
ticularly in  the  personal  agency  of  the  little  horn  in  it.  Indeed  the 
diverse  statements  in  the  prophecy  (chnp.  7.)  fiivor  some  diversity 
in  the  historic  facts  as  to  an  active  agency  of  the  little  horn. 
"Plucked  up;"  "fall;"  arc  intransitive  or  passive:  "to  subdue,"  in 
the  sense,  to  humble,  is  active.     All  those  varieties  find  their  ado- 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  VII.  3G3 

quate  fulfillment  in  the  diversity  of  these  three  cases  brought  before 
us  in  chap.  11.  The  two  kings  next  preceding  in  the  Syrian  line 
were  certainly  "plucked  up,"  did  certainly  "fall,"  before  him.  The 
one  king  in  the  Egyptian  line  he  did  certainly  humble  and  "sub- 
due."  These  three,  therefore,  I  must  account  as  the  three  horns 

referred  to  in  chap.  7:  8,  20,  24. (2.)  "He  thought  to  change 

times  and  laws."  The  legitimate  sense  of  these  words,  as  written 
by  a  Jew  and  for  Jewish  readers,  can  be  nothing  else  than  chang- 
ing the  religious  institutions  given  by  God  through  ^Moses.  Every 
writer  should  be  presumed  to  use  language  in  the  sense  in  which 
his  readers  must  understand  it.  Prophecy  is  no  exception  to  this 
rule. '  The  prophets  wrote  in  order  to  be  understood.  If,  to  refute 
this,  it  be  said  that  Daniel  as  a  prophet  might  look  far  down  into 
the  Christian  age  and  see  another  system  of  religious  "  times  and 
laws,"  the  legitimate  answer  is  that  his  readers  were  not  prophets 
even  though  he  was;  and  he  certainly  wrote  for  their  reading  and 

to  their  understanding. Let  us  now  notice  the  historic  fulfillment 

of  this  clause.  On  this  point  the  books  of  the  Maccabees  are  the 
best  of  testimony.  The  first  book  witnesseth  thus ;  "  Moreover  king 
Antiochus  wrote  to  his  whole  kingdom  that  all  should  be  one  peo- 
ple, and  every  one  should  leave  his  laws;  so  all  the  heathen  agreed 
according  to  the  commandment  of  jbhe  king.  Yea,  many  also  of 
the  Israelites  consented  to  his  religion,  and  sacrificed  unto  idols, 
and  profaned  the  sabbath.  For  the  king  had  sent  letters  by  mes- 
sengers unto  Jerusalem  and  the  cities  of  Judah,  that  they  should 
follow  the  strange  laws  of  the  land,  and  forbid  burnt-offerings  and 
sacrifices  and  drink-offerings  in  the  temple,  and  that  they  should 
profane  the  sabbaths  and  festival  days;  and  pollute  the  sanctuary 
and  holy  people ;  set  up  altars  and  groves,  and  chapels  of  idols,  and 
sacrifice  swine's  flesh  and  unclean  boasts;  that  they  should  also 
leave  their  children  uncircumcised,  and  make  their  souls  abominable 
with  all  manner  of  uncleanness  and  profanation ;  io  the  end  they 
might  forget  the  law  and  change  all  the  ordinances.  And  whosoever 
would  not  do  according  to  the  commandment  of  the  king,  he  said, 
he  should  die.  (chap.  1 :  41-50.)  "  Now  the  fifteenth  day  of  the  month 
Casleu,  in  the  hundred  and  forty-fifth  year,  they  set  up  the  abomi- 
nation of  desolation  upon  the  altar,  and  builded  idol-altars  through- 
out the  cities  of  Judah  on  every  side"  (v.  34). The  author  of 

the  second  book  of  Maccabees  makes  his  statements  thus :  "  Not 
long  after  this  the  king  sent  an  old  man  of  Athens  to  compel  the 
Jews  to  depart  from  the  laws  of  their  fathers,  and  not  to  live  after 
the  laws  of  God,  and  also  to  pollute  the  temple  in  Jerusalem  and 

to  call  it  the  temple  of  Jupiter  Olympius The  coming  in  of  this 

mischief  was  sore  and  grievous  to  the  people;  for  the  temple  was 
filled  with  riot  and  reveling  by  the  Gentiles,  who  dallied  with  harlots 
and  had  to  do  with  women  within  the  circuit  of  the  holy  places, 
and  besides  that,  brought  in  things  that  were  not  lawful.  The  altar 
also  was  filled  with  profane  things  which  the  law  forbiddcth. 
Neither  was  it  lawful  for  a  man  to  keep  sabbath  days  or  ancient 
feasts,  or  to  profess  himself  at  all  to  be  a  Jew.     And  in  the  day  of 


3G4  DANIEL.— CHAP.  Vll. 

the  king's  birth,  every  month  they  were  brought  by  bitter  constraint 
to  eat  of  the  sacrifices ;  and  when  the  feast  of  Bacchus  was  kept, 
the  Jews  Avcre  compelled  to  go  in  procession  to  l^acchus,  carrying 

ivy"  (2  ISlac.  6 :  1-7). These  extracts   from  Jewish  historians, 

writing  not  long  after  the  events,  testify  amply  both  to  the  fact  and 
to  the  intent.  They  also  show  that  the  language  of  Daniel,  "  change 
times  and  laws,"  is  perfectly  Jewish^  and  indeed  could  not  be  un- 
derstood by  them  to  mean  any  thing  else  than  subverting  the  Mosaic 

ritual  service. (3.)  "They  shall  be  given  into  his  hand  until  a 

time,  times,  and  dividing  of  time." Do  the  facts  of  history  verify 

this  on  the  interpretation  above  given?     They  do  most  fully. 

First,  of  the  precise -sense  of  this  clause.  The  proper  antecedent 
of  "they,"  representing  who  or  what  shall  be  given  into  his  hand, 
is  "times  and  laws."  Hence  the  meaning  must  be  that  he  will 
have  power  to  subvert  the  Mosaic  rites  of  worship,  or  at  least  sus- 
pend their  observance,  during  the  period  specified.  Or,  if  it  be  still 
insisted  that  "they"  refers  to  the  saints,  yet  the  sense  must  be 
that  they  are  given  into  his  hand  to  this  special  extent  and  result, 
viz.,  that  he  may  suspend  their  "times  and  laws" — the  same  ulti- 
mate significance  as  before.  Consequently  the  period  hereby  limited 
in  time  w^ith  its  contained  events,  is  just  that  during  which  the  little 
horn-king  was  allowed  of  God*to  suspend  the  ritual  services  of  the 
Jewish  worship.  The  passage  docs  not  say  how  long  the  little  horn 
shall  live,  nor  how  long  he  should  make  war  upon  the  saints,  nor 
docs  it  put  any  thing  else  into  this  limitation  of  time  except  this 
one  thing — how  long  he  shall  be  able  to  prevent  the  normal  action 

of  those  Jewish  "times  and  laws." The  facts  of  history  on  this 

point  are  derived  originally  from  Josephus  and  from  the  two  books 
of  Maccabees.  Of  the  latter,  the  first  book  has  the  reputation  of 
being  very  exact  and  reliable  history.  The  second  moralizes  more 
and  confines  itself  less  closely  to  history;  j'et  is  regarded  as  in  the 
main  reliable.'  Josephus  may  be  presumed  to  give  us  the  traditions 
of  his  countrymen  as  current  in  his  day  (A.  D.  75-100).  His  Jew- 
ish war  was  published  about  A.  D.  75 ;  his  Antiquities,  A.  D.  93. 

On  the  historic  period  now  before  us,  Josephus  states  (Proem  to  his 
Jewish  War,  sec.  7)  that  "  Antiochus  called  Epiphanes  seized  Jeru- 
salem and  held  it  three  years  and  six  months."  In  the  same  work 
(I:  1:  1.)  of  the  same  Epiphanes;  "He  caused  the  customary  daily 
sacrifice  to  cease  three  years  and  six  months."  But  in  his  Antiqui- 
ties (XH:  7:  6)  he  computes  only  three  years,  saying,  "The  temple, 
desolated  by.Antiochus,  continued  in  this  state  three  years."  These 
statements  constitute  precisely  his  testimony. 

The  testimony  of  the  first  book  of  Maccabees  is  entirely  explicit 
as  to  the  point  when  the  sanctuary  was  cleansed.  It  was  on  the 
twenty-fifth  day  of  the  ninth  month,  i.  e.,  Casleu,  which  was  the 
one  hundred  and  forty-eighth  A^ear  of  the  era  of  the  Seleucida;. 
(See  1  Mac.  4:  52.)     As  this  era  usually  counts  from  B.  C.  312, 

the  one  hundred  and  forty-eighth  year  would  be  B.  C   1G4. 

The  point  of  commencing  in  these  several  statements  is  various. 
This  first  book  states  (chap.  1 :  54)  that,  on  the  fifteenth  day  of 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  VII.  3Co 

the  month  Caslcu,  in  the  one  hundred  and  forty-fifth  year  (B.  C. 
167),  they  set  up  the  abomination  of  desohition  upon  the  altar  and 
buildcd  idol  altars  throughout  the  cities  of  Judah  on  every  side." 
This  gives  an  interval,  down  to  the  cleansing  of  the  sanctuary,  of 
three  years  and  ten  days.  In  the  same  connection  (v.  59),  he  sin^s ; 
''  On  the  twenty-fifth  day  of  the  month  they  sacrificed  upon  tlic 

idol-altar  which  was  upon  the  altar  of  God." The  author  of  the 

second  hook  of  jMaccabees  is  unfortunately  sparing  of  dates.  On 
the  point  now  in  hand,  he  only  says  (chap.  10:  5);  "  Kow  upon 
the  same  day  that  the  strangers  proftmed  the  temple,  on  the  very 
sivme  day  it  was  cleansed  again,  even  the  twenty-fifth  day'  of  the 

same  month  which  is  Casleu." These  statements,  though  unlike, 

are  yet  not  seriously  conflicting.  Observe  that  while  in  all  cases 
the  period  they  limit  terminates  at  the  same  point,  viz.,  the  cleans- 
ing of  the  sanctuary,  yet  it  does  not  profess  to  begin  at  the 
same.  Thus  the  first  book  of  Maccabees  gives  us  first  the  day 
when  they  set  up  the  abomination  upon  the  sacred  altar,  viz., 
the  fifteenth  day  of  Casleu;  and  next  the  day  when  they  ofiercd 
their  first  idol  sacrifices  upon  it  which  was  ten  days  after,  on  the 

twenty-fifth  of  Casleu. -Josephus   gives  us   in  one  passage  the 

period  during  which  Antiochus  held  Jerusalem  by  military  force 
at  three  and  a  half  years.  Next,  he  makes  the  time  during 
which  he  caused  the  daily  sacrifice  to  cease  three  and  a  half 
years.  In  still  another  passage  he  says  that  the  temple  lay  deso- 
lated three  years.  The  somewhat  full  history  in  the  first  chapter 
of  first  Maccabees  shows  that  the  whole  work  of  subduing  the 
Jewish  force,  getting  possession  of  the  temple,  desecrating  the  holy 
altar,  setting  up  another  for  idol-offerings,  and  getting  in  readiness 
to  commence  idol-worship,  occupied  no  little  time — not  improbably 
six  months.  The  entire  period,  therefore,  will  be  estimated  vari- 
ously according  as  the  writer  may  commence  at  an  earlier  or  a 

later  point,  to  take  in  more  or  less  of  the  preliminary  steps. 

The  reader  will  notice  that  the  form  of  statement  before  us  (in 
chap.  7:  25,  and  with  this  also  chap.  12:  7)  should  naturally  be 
the  longer  rather  than  the  shorter  period — the  entire  duration  of 
this  horn's  ascendant  power  over  the  city  and  the  holy  people,  to 
prevent  their  customary  temple-worship,   rather  than  the   shorter 

term  in  which  idol  sacrifices  were  offered  in  the  temple. This 

seems  to  me  to  be  a  fair  and  rational  solution  of  this  slight  appar- 
ent discrepancy.  The  marvel  is  not  that  the  history  should  seem 
to  fail  in  the  point  of  accurate  dates ;  but  that  in  periods  so  short 
and  at  a  time  so  remote,  it  should  be  possible  to  obtain  so  much 

accuracy. (4.)  Another  prominent  point  in  respect  to  this  little 

horn-king  is  his  destruction. As  already  suggested,  vs.   11,  12, 

plainly  intimate  that,  being  for  the  time  the  representative  and  em- 
bodunent  of  the  fourth  beast,  he  falls  by  some  striking  form  of  judg- 
ment. V.  26  certainly  refers  primarily  to  this  king,  and  implies 
also  a  special  judgment  ii-om  God  upon  him — beyond  question  the 

same  which  is  described  vs.  9-11. Correspondingly,  chap.  8  :  25, 

says;  though  "he  shall  stand  up  against  the  Prince  of  princes"  (in 


3G6  DANIEL^CHAP.  VII.- 

his  pride  and  rage)  "yet  he  shall  be  broken  without  hand."  (For 
this  last  expression,  "broken  without  hand,"  compare  Job  34:  20, 
"The  mi;:;;hty  shall  1)0  taken  away  without  hand.")  By  no  human 
arm,  but  by  one  invisible  and  divine,  he  shall  be  utterly  broken. 

So   chap.    1 1  :   45 ;    "  Thoui;;h   he   shall    plant    his    palace-like 

tents  between  the  great  Sea"  (the  Mediterranean)  ''and  the  glori- 
ous holy  mountain,  yet  he  shall  come  to  his  end,  and  none  shall 
help  him;"  i.  e.,  though  he  gained  possession  of  ]\It.  Zion  and  held 
it  as  his  fortress  for  several  years,  exceedingly  afflicting  the  people 
of  God  and  long  time  desecrating  his  sanctuary,  yet  he  shall  come 

down  wonderfully,  and  "there  shall  be  none   to  help  him." 

Such  are  the  statements  of  Daniel's  prophecy  respecting  the  death 

of  this  king. What  are  the  facts  of  history  ? The  original 

witnesses  are  mainly  the  first  and  second  books  of  Maccabees. 
The  first  book  gives  a  clear,  calm,  orderly  and  trustworthy  state- 
ment, thus;  "About  that  time  King  Antiochus,  traveling  through 
the  high  countries,  heard  say  that  Elymais  in  the  country  of  Persia 
was  a  city  greatly  renoAvned  for  riches,  silver  and  gold ;  and  that 
there  was  in  it  a  very  rich  temple,  wherein  were  coverings  of  gold 
and  breast-plates  and  shields,  which  Alexander,  son  of  Philip  the 
Macedonian  king,  who  reigned  first  among  the  Grecians,  had  left 
there.  Wherefore  he  came  and  sought  to  take  the  city  and  to 
spoil  it;  but  he  was  not  able,  because  they  of  the  city,  having  had 
warning  thereof,  rose  up  against  him  in  battle ;  so  he  fled,  and  de- 
parted thence  in  great  heaviness  and  returned  to  Babylon.  More- 
over there  came  one  who  brought  him  tidings  into  Persia,  that  the 
armies,  which  went  against  the  land  of  Judea,  were  put  to  flight; 
and  that  Lysias  who  went  forth  first  with  a  great  force  was  driven 
away  of  the  Jews,  and  that  they  were  made  strong  by  the  armor 
and  power  and  store  of  spoils  Avhich  they  had  gotten  of  the  armies 
whom  they  had  destroyed;  also  that  they  had  pulled  down  the 
abomination  which  he  had  set  up  upon  the  altar  in  Jerusalem,  and 
that  they  had  compassed  about  the  sanctuary  with  high  Avails  as 
before.  Noav  when  the  king  heard  these  Avords,  he  was  astonished 
and  sore  moved;  Avhereupon  he  laid  himself  doAvn  upon  his  bed 
and  fell  sick  for  grief  because  it  had  not  befallen  him  as  he  looked 
for.  And  there  he  continued  many  days;  for  his  grief  was  CA'cr 
more  and  more,  and  he  made  account  that  he  should  die.  Where- 
fore he  called  for  all  his  friends  and  said  unto  them,  '  The  sleep 
is  gone  from  mine  eyes  and  my  heart  faileth  for  very  care.  And 
I  thought  Avith  myself  into  Avhat  tribulation  am  1  come,  and  how 
great  a  flood  of  misery  is  it  AA^herein  1  noAV  am !  for  I  AA'as  bounti- 
ful and  beloved  in  my  poAver.  ButnoAv  I  remember  the  evils  that 
I  did  at  Jerusalem,  and  that  I  took  all  the  vessels  of  gold  and 
silver  that  "Avere  therein,  and  sent  to  destroy  the  inhabitants  of 
Jiidca  AvithoUt  a  cause.  I  perceive  therefore  that  for  this  cause 
these  troubles  are  come  upon  me,  and  behold,  I  perish  through 
great  grief  in  a  strange  land.'  ....  So  King  Antiochus  died  there 

in  t\iG  hundred  and  forty-ninth  year."     (1  j\lac.  6:  1-13,  16.) ■ 

In  the  second  book  this  narrative  fills  the  ninth  chapter,  expanding 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  VII.  3G7 

and  commenting  somewhat  freely,  and  making  the  invisible  hand 
of  God  very  prominent  among  the  causes  of  his  awful  death.  The. 
outline  of  historic  circumstances  is  much  the  same  as  in  the  first 
book.  Antiochus  goes  to  a  remote  city  of  Persia  to  pillage  a  very 
rich  temple ;  is  driven  off  by  the  people ;  on  his  way  back,  he  hears 
that  his  armies  in  Judea  are  defeated  and  the  Jews  enriched  by 
their  spoil.  Enraged  to  fury  "  he  commands  his  charioteer  to  drive 
without  ceasing  and  to  despatch  the  journey,  the  judgments  of  God 
now  following  him.  For  he  had  spoken  proudly  in  this  sort  that 
he  would  come  to  Jerusalem  and  make  it  the  common  burying- 
place  of  the  Jews.  But  the  Lord  Almighty,  the  God  of  Israel, 
smote  him  with  an  invisible  and  incurable  plague,  for  as  soon  as 
he  had  spoken  these  words,  a  pain  of  the  bowels  that  was  remedi- 
less came  upon  him,  and  sore  torments  of  the  inner  parts;  and 
that  most  justly ;  for  he  had  tormented  other  men's  bowels  with 
many  and  strange  torments.  Howbeit  he  nothing  at  all  ceased 
from  his  bragging,  but  still  was  filled  with  pride,  breathing  out 
fire  in  his  rage  against  the  Jews,  and  commanding  to  haste  the 
journey;  but  it  came  to  pass  that  he  fell  do^vn  from  his  chariot, 
carried  violently,  so  that  having  a  sore  fall,  all  the  members  of 
his  body  were  much  pained.  And  thus  he  that  a  little  afore  thought 
he  might  command  the  waves  of  the  sea  (so  proud  was  he  beyond 
the  condition  of  man)  and  weigh  the  high  mountains  in  a  balance, 
was  now  cast  on  the  ground,  and  carried  in  a  horse-litter,  showing 
forth  unto  all  the  manifest  power  of  God.  So  that  the  worms  rose 
up  out  of  the  body  of  this  wicked  man,  and  while  he  lived  in  sor- 
row and  pain,  his  flesh  fell  away,  and  the  filthiness  of  his  smell 
was  noisome  to  all  his  army."  In  short,  convicted  of  his  great 
guilt,  stung  with  remorse,  appalled  with  fear  of  the  Almighty 
hand,  he  makes  vows  and  promises  to  God,  even  to  beautify  the 
temple  he  had  despoiled,  defray  the  cost  of  its  sacrifices,  and  be- 
come himself  a  Jew  and  go  through  all  the  world  declaring  the 
power  of  God;  "but  for  all  this  his  pains  would  not  cease,  for  the 
just  judgment  of  God  was  come  upon  him."  .  .  .  "Thus  this  mur- 
derer and  blasphemer,  having  sufiered  most  grievously,  as  he  had 
treated  other  men,  so  died  he  a  miserable  death  in  a  strange  coun- 
try in  the  mountains." It  is  perhaps  impossible  to  say  whether 

this  account  may  not  be  somewhat  exaggerated ;  yet  there  can  be 
no  reasonable  doubt  that  in  its  main  features  it  is  correct.  Assum- 
ing this,  the  death  of  this  impious  blasphemer  classes  itself  with 
that  of  the  Herod  who  murdered  the  elder  James,  and  witnesses  to 
the  fearfulncss  of  those  special  judgments  from  the  Almighty  Avhich 
are  designed  to  stand  as  his  testimony  and  warning  to  those  who 

set  at  naught  his  power  and  defy  his  vengeance. Thus  this  point 

of  the  prophetic  description  of  the  little  horn  as  Antiochus  Epiph- 
ancs  is  amply  verified  by  the  historic  facts. 

At  the  cost  of  a  little  repetition,  I  proceed  now  to  give  a  brief 
summary  of  the  grounds  on  which  I  am  compelled  to  reject  the 

Roman  theory  in  this  seventh  chapter. In  general  my  plan  of 

commentary  mostly   excludes   the   presentation  of  oj)inion8    from 


3G8  DANIEL.— CHAP.  VII. 

which  I  dissent.  But  the  very  extensive  prevalence  of  this  Roman 
.theory  induces  mc  to  deviate  in  this  case  from  my  ijeneral  ph\n. 

Briefly  then,  I  must  reject  the  theory  which  makes  the  fourth 

beast  Home  Pagan;  the  ten  horns,  some  ten  European  kingdoms; 

and  the  little  horn  Borne  l*apal, 1.  Because  it  is  out  of  analogy 

with  the  preceding  beasts,  this  fourth  considered  as  Borne,  not  being 
in  any  proper  sense,  the  successor  to  the  other  three;  not  located 
in  the  same  part  of  the  world ;  not  composed  mainly  of  the  same 
populations;  not  following  in  the  same  closely  consecutive  order  of 
time,  but  involving  a  huge  chasm — for  Pagan  Bome,  of  four  hund- 
red years,  and  for  Papal  Bome  as  a  great  persecuting  power  near 
six  hundred  more :  and  finally  not  standing  in  the  same  political 
relations  to  the  Jews,  while  yet  they  are  the  recognized  people  of 

God. 2.  It  disregards  the  relation  of  these  visions  to  Daniel's 

own  people  and  to  his  special  circumstances  as  their  patron,  pro- 
tector and  father. 3.  It  overlooks  the  manifest  indications  that 

the  great  conflict,  the  "war  with  the  saints  of  the  Most  High,"  is 
l)ctween  this  little  horn  and  the  Jews  while  they  are  yet  the  people 

of  God  and  while  the  Mosaic  system  is  yet  standing. 4.  Both 

the  vision  and  its  explanation  assume  that  the  fourth  beast  and  its 
little  horn  are  in  some  vital  respects  a  unit,  or,  at  least  stand  in 
the  closest  connection  with  each  other;  but  the  Boman  theory 
makes  them  utterly  unlike — alike  in  nothing  indeed  but  the  name 
Boman.  The  one  is  a  Pagan,  political  empire ;  the  other  is  a  nom- 
inal church,  and  moreover  far  removed  from  each  other  in  time. 

5.  Inasmuch  as  v.  11  shows  that  the  fourth  beast  is  destroyed 

because  of  the  sins  of  the  little  horn,  this  theory  carries  with  it 
the  absurdity  of  destroying  Pagan  Bome  for  the  sins  of  Papal 
Bome — sins  committed  by  an  entirely  different  sot  of  sinners,  and 
several  hundred  years  after  the  punishment  had  been  inflicted  and 
the  sufferers  destroyed !  That  is,  because  Papal  Bome  ivill  drink 
the  blood  of  saints  and  martyrs  in  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth 
centuries,  therefore  let  Pagan  Bome  be  destroyed  in  the  fourth  and 

fifth  ! Of  course  neither  of  these  parties  are  known  in  this  vision 

save  as  persecuting  powers.     This  fact  must  guide  us  as  to  dates 

and  durations.- G.  The  ]?oman  theory  is  absolutely  set  aside  and 

rendered  impossible  by  the  "terminus  ad  quem"  of  the  fourth 
beast  and  all  his  horns;  i.  c,  by  the  fact  that  this  kingdom  and 

all  its  kings  are  destroyed  before  the  INIessiah's  first  advent. 7. 

It  is  also  set  aside  by  the  scope  and  significance  of  the  undeniably 
parallel  visions  of  chap.  8  and  of  chap.  11.  This  will  be  shown 
more  fully  in  its  place. 8.  It  must  be  rejected  because  it  con- 
flicts with  the  inspired  explanation  of  the  symbol  of  the  horn.  This 
inspired  explanation  (v.  24)  makes  the  ten  horns  ten  kings^  and 
the  little  horn  also  a  king.  Any  system  of  interpretation  muat  be 
false  which  disregards  and  overrides  God's  own  interpretation, 
especially  in  a  point  so  fundamental  as  this. The  proper  signifi- 
cance of  a  horn  as  a  symbol  might  be  elaborated  in  the  light  of  its 
natural  relations.  It  might  be  urged  that  a  horn  is  nothing  apart 
from  the  beast  that  wears  it;  that  it  is  the  beast's  own  instrument 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  VII.  360 

of  powe^,  just  as  the  king  is  the  executive  force  of  his  kingdom; 
that  in  every  point  of  view  the  natural  significance  of  the  horn  on 
a  beast  is  a  king  in  his  kingdom.  But,  waving  this  form  of  argu- 
ment, I  now  put  the   case  simply  on  the  positive  interpretation  of 

God  himself,  and  insist  that  this  ought  to  be  respected. 9.  In 

reference  to  the  little  horn,  the  Roman  theory  must  be  rejected  be- 
cause it  departs  yet  more  widely  from  the  inspired  interpretation 
inasmuch  as  it  makes  the  little  horn  not  even  a  kingdoyti  in  the 
sense  of  this  vision,  but  a  great  religious  organization — a  nominal 

church. In  view  of  the  manifest  drift  and  scope  of  this  vision, 

this  interpretation  of  the    little    horn  must  be  pronounced   pure 

caprice,  having  no  support  whatever  in  the  vision  itself 10.  It 

involves  the  inconsistency  of  making  ten  of  these  horns  political 
kingdoms,  and  the  eleventh  a  great  nominal  church. 11,  Fi- 
nally, it  must  be  rejected  because  it  requires  for  its  support  the 
utterly  baseless  theory  of  prophetic  times  which  multiplies  them  by 
three  hundred  and  sixty  to  get  actual  time.  See  this  theory  exam- 
ined in  the  Appendix,  Dissertation  A.  It  is  hoped  these  reasons  for 
rejecting  the  Koman  theory  will  be  deemed  satisfactory  and  sufficient. 
It  is  still  due  to  the  advocates  of  the  Roman  theory  to  take  re- 
spectful notice  of  the  grounds  on  Avhich  mainly  their  theory  is  sup- 
ported and  the  opposite  one  assailed.     These  are : 

1.  That  on  the  theory  I  have  presented,  there  is  a  want  of  unity 
in  the  fourth  beast  and  hence  a  want  of  natural  analogy  with  the 
three  preceding  beasts. On  the  contrary,  I  have  urged  and  la- 
bored to  show  that  in  reference  to  the  main  drift  and  purpose  of 
these  visions,  there  is  a  high  degree  of  unity  in  the  fourth  beast 
and  all  his  horns;  that  the  vision  and  interpretation  both  conspire 
to  demand  far  more  unity  between  the  fourth  beast  and  the  little 
horn  than  the  Roman  theory  can  possibly  admit,  and  just  such  as 
the  Grecian  theory  affords ;  and  that  in  view  of  the  real  purport  of 
these  visions,  there  is  (as  above  presented)  a  close  and  abundant 

analogy  betvreen  the  first  three  beasts  and  the  fourth. Moreover 

those  Avho  make  great  account  of  the  precise  fitting  of  symbol  to 
historic  fact  may  well  take  note  that  in  the  vision  of  the  great  im- 
age, as  the  two  arms  happen  to  fit  the  double  kingdom  of  the  ]\Iedos 
and  Persians,  so  the  two  legs  equally  fit  the  two-fold  Grecian  king- 
dom— Egyptian  and  Syrian^ and  that  the  ten  toes  are  found  as  ten 
kings,  five  in  one  of  these  two  kingdoms  and  five  in  the  other. 

2.  It  is  urged  that  Rome  is  really  the  fourth  universal  kingdom, 

and  therefore  must  be  the  fourth  beast. But  here  every  thing 

turns  on  the  question  whether  Daniel  is  giving  to  the  world  univer- 
sal history  in  genei'al,  and  this  from  a  stand-point  that  has  no 
special  reference  to  the  Jews ;  or  whether  he  gives  profane  history 
only  because  it  connects  itself  with  the  fortunes  of  his  own  people, 
the  Jews,  and  only  so  far  as  it  so  connects  itself 1  take  the  lat- 
ter view  most  decidedly.  I  find  it  sustained  by  all  the  circum- 
stances of  Daniel's  public  life;  by  numerous  indications  throughout 
his  entire  book  as  well  as  throughout  these  four  parallel  visions ; 
and  by  the  analogy  of  all  the  other  prophets — not  to  say  of  all  the 


870  DANIEL.— CHAP.  VII. 

rest  of  the  13il)lc. The  former  view  I  regard  as  utterly  unten- 
able, and  as  the  fundamental  mistake  underlying  the  failures  so 
often  made  in  the  interpretation  of  Daniel.  If  Daniel  wrote  uni- 
versal history  down  to  the  millennium,  why  does  ho  not  give  us 

America  also  as  well  as  Europe? in  my  view  Daniel,  like  every 

other  pro[)liet,  had  a  present  moral  object  in  reference  to  his  first 
readers — the  pco})lc  among  whom  and  for  whom  he  Avrote.  Of 
course  he  wrote  to  be  understood;  he  wrote  what  they  could  un- 
derstand ;  and  therefore  he  did  not  write  about  European  kingdoms, 
and  the  American  republic  in  particular.  Certainly  he  said  nothing 
Avhich  his  readers  would  naturally  apply  to  these  countries  and 
powers,  lie  must  needs  have  used  far  other  language  to  give  his 
readers  any  just  views  of  the  ten  European  kingdoms  of  the  lloman 
theory,  or  of  the  American  republic.  The  doctrine  that  prophecy 
was  not  intended  to  be  understood  until  very  near  or  after  its  ful- 
fillment   is    radically    fallacious. Further,    Daniel    prophesied 

nothing  about  the  kingdoms  of  Europe  or  the  governments  of 
America,  because  his  people,  prior  to  their  rejection  as  the  people 
of  God,  sustained  no  relation  to  these  powers,  and  had  no  interest 
in  these  matters.  Worldly  kingdoms  therefore  are  seen  to  be  great 
and  formidable  in  Daniel's  eye  chiefly  by  virtue  of  their  relations 
to  his  people,  and  not  because  of  their  relations  to  each  other  or 
to  universal  history. 

3.  It  is  felt  that  the  description  given  of  the  little  horn  fits  Papal 

Kome  too  well  to  be  set  aside,  and  so  well  that  it  must  be  true. 

I  answer; (1.)  Fitness,  however  much,  does  not  settle  the  ques- 
tion. Prophecy  must  not  be  interpreted  to  mean  every  thing  or 
any  thing  it  may  chance  to  fit  and  only  because  it  fits.  Suppose 
God  himself  has  explained  it  to  mean  something  else ;  or  has  given 
limits  of  time  within  which  the  fulfillment  must  fall,  and  which 
absolutely  preclude  its  reference  to  those  things  which  it  fits  so 
well !  As  already  said,  one  of  the  worst  mistakes  made  in  the  in- 
terpretation of  prophecy  is  the  exclusive  use  of  the  criterion  of 

supposed  fulfillment. (2.)  Papal  Rome  is  bad  enough  doubtless; 

1  shall  not  seek  to  lessen  the  testimony  of  history  to  her  crimes  or 
to  her  depravity.  But  this  delineation  in  Daniel  was  not  made  for 
her.  This  persecuting  power  lived  and  perished  before  the  first 
advent  of  Christ;  vented  its  rage  upon  the  Jews  and  upon  their 
ritual  service,  not  on  Christians  in  the  middle  ages ;  and  was  lim- 
ited in  the  duration  of  its  special  power  over  the  saints  and  their 
worship  to  three  and  a  half  years.  These  and  kindred  points  put 
the  finger  of  this  prophecy  upon  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  and  forbid 
its  reference,  in  its  primary  and  proper  sense,  to  Papal  Home.  If 
any  choose  to  say  that  whatever  Cod  teaches  of  the  doom  of  one 
great  Antichrist  applies  to  every  other  Antichrist,  very  well.  It 
applies  by  parity  of  reason,  not  as  written  and  primarily  meant  for 
any  other  but  the  one  Avho  sat  for  the  picture.     Such  a  portraiture 

has  its  solemn  lessons  for  every  self-hardened  sinner. (3.)  The 

warmth  of  our  interest  in  finding  some  prophecy  that  denounces 
and  dooms  Papal  Home  should  never  be  allowed  to  prejudice  our 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  Vll.  371 

interpretation  of  God's  word.  Truth  loses  every  thing  and  gains 
nothing  by  prejudiced  interpretations. 

4.  It  is  urged  that  the  setting  up  of  tlie  Messiah's  kingdom  and 
giving  it  to  the  saints,  must  refer  to  the  millennial  times  yet  future. 

Hence  fitly  it  follows  the  fall  of  the  great  lloman  Antichrist. ■ 

I  reply; (1.)  No  special  distinction  can  be  made  in  this.prophecy 

between  setting  up  Christ's  kingdom   and  giving  it  to  his  saints. 

They  are  thought  of  as  simultaneous  and  essentially  the  same. 

(2.)  The  time  of  this  setting  up  is  fixed,  as  shown  above,  to  the 

ascension  of  Christ. (3.)  Millennial  times  arc  here  in  the  course 

of  Christ's  indefinitely  long  reign — in  the  remote,  but  not  in  the 
nearer  future.  No  specific  date  for  Christ's  Millennial  triumphs 
can  be  found  here.  Of  course  no  special  light  is  thrown  by  this 
prophecy  on  the  doings  or  the  doom  of  Papal  Kome. 

5.  It  is  claimed  that  the  first  vision  (chap.  2 :  4-i)  dates  the  set- 
ting up  of  Christ's  kingdom  in  the  latter  times  of  the  great  European 
kingdoms  denoted  by  the  ten  horns.  "  In  the  daj'-s  of  these  kings 
shall  the  God  of  heaven  set  up  a  kingdom,"  etc. To  this  I  an- 
swer;  (1.)  The  ten  horns  can  not  be  any  ten  European  kingdoms, 

for  God  has  said  they  are  ten  kings^  and  implies  that  he  destroyed 

them  all  before  Christ's  first  coming. (2.)  The  passage  "In  the 

days  of  these  kin_,s  shall  the  God  of  heaven  set  up  a  kingdom," 
etc.,  (chap.  2:  44,)  is  general,  and  can  not  fix  any  dates  in  opposi- 
tion to  the  much  more  full  and  specific  statements  of  chap.  7. 

(3.)  The  scope  of  the  vision  (chap.  2:  31-45)  requires  that  the 
stone  (Jesus  Christ)  should  smite  and  destroy  all  those  heathen 
powers,  including  those  meant  by  the  feet  and  toes,  before  he  him- 
self or  his  kingdom  becomes  the  great  mountain  and  fills  all  the 
earth.  It  is  therefore  only  in  the  general  sense  of  the  preparatory 
work  wrought  by  the  agencies  of  divine  providence  that  the  Mes- 
siah's kingdom  is  set  up  while  yet  those  kings  are  living.  But  see 
the  notes  on  chap.  2 :  44. 

G.  Finally,  it  is  felt  that  these  prophecies  lose  most  of  their  prac- 
tical interest  and  value  if  they  do  not  predict  the  fall  of  the  great 
Roman  Antichrist  and  do  not  give  the  precise  date  of  the  millen- 
nium.  1  reply ;  If  this  were  true,  it  is  a  calamity  that  can  not 

be  helped.  For,  we  must  not,  for  the  sake  of  greater  interest,  put 
an  interpretation  on  prophecy  which  is  not  true,  and  is  not  sus- 
tained by  sound,  legitimate  principles  of  interpretation.  It  is  our 
business  to  find,  not  make,  the  sense  of  prophecy.  And  it  is  no 
part  of  our  responsibility  to  interpret  so  as  to  get   the   greatest 

amount  of  interest  or  sensation  out  of  it. As  to  profit,  God  knows 

best  what  will  be  profitable.  Perhaps  he  thinks  it  best  not  to  give 
us  precisely  the  date  of  the  millennium,  nor  the  date  of  Christ's 
second  coming,  nor  the  date  of  the  fall  of  Papal  Kome.  It  may  be 
best  in  his  view  to  leave  the  Church  to  do  her  work  under  the  in- 
spiration and  impulse  of  only  general  and  not  specific  promises  as 
to  the  world's  conversion,  assuring  her  of  liis  purpose  to  do  it,  but 
not  giving  her  the  time  when.  Would  it  be  strange  if  this  should 
be  found  at  last  to  be  the  course  of  divine  wisdom  and  of  the  facts 


372  DANIEL.— CHAP.  VIII. 

of  prophecy?  May  it  not  be  really  wise  to  make  due  account  of 
human  free  agency,  and  to  shape  prophecy  so  as  to  bear  both 
kindly  and  vigorously  upon  the  free  minds  of  men  ?  Has  the  world 
had  no  illustrations  of  the  mischiefs  of  making  dates  for  Christ's 
second  advent  which  God  never  made,  and  "when  he  never  meant 
to  reveal  any  date  for  it  at  all  ? 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


This  chapter  comprises  one  entire  vision  with  its  explanation — 
the  third  in  the  series  of  Daniel's  four  essentially  parallel  prophe- 
cies. It  is  naturally  divided  into  three  parts,  of  which  the  iirst  is 
purely  symbolic — the  ram  with  two  horns;  the  he-goat  with  his 
great  horn;  the  four  that  came  up  subsequently,  and  the  little  one 
(vs.  1-9.)  The  second  part  shades  off  froia  the  symbol  of  the  horn 
to  the  conception  of  a  king,  and  gives  his  doings  (vs.  9-14).  The 
third  comprises  the  manner  of  giving  the  explanation,  and  the  ex- 
planation itself  (vs.  15-27). As  in  chap.  7,  so  here,  I  propose 

first,  to  comment  upon  the  words  and  clauses,  to  educe  their  exact 
sense;  and  then  to  inquire  more  fully  into  the  prophetic  signifi- 
cance of  the  little  horn — this  being  the  only  thing  in  this  vision 
upon  which  commentators  have  disagreed. 

1.  In  the  tliird  year  of  the  reign  of  king  Belsliazzar  a 
vision  appeared  unto  ine,  even  wito  me  Daniel,  after  tliat 
wliicli  appeared  unto  me  at  the  first. 

It  is  probably  safe  to  assume  that  the  third  year  of  Belshazzar's 
reign  was  also  his  last,  or  at  least  very  near  his  last.  If  so,  the 
date  of  this  vision  is  B.  C.  539  or  538. The  previous  vision  re- 
ferred to  is  that  of  chap.  7,  two  years  before. 

2.  And  I  saw  in  a  vision ;  (and  it  came  to  pass,  when  I 
saw,  that  I  ivcus  at  Shushan  in  the  palace,  which  is  in  the 
province  of  Elam ;)  and  I  saw  in  a  vision,  and  I  was  by  the 
river  of  Ulai. 

The  clause  in  parenthesis,  beginning  "And  it  came  to  pass,"  and 
ending,  "  province  of  Elam,"  seems  to  have  been  designed  to  show 
that  he  was  actually  at  Shushan  in  the  palace  ef  the  Persian  king 
when  he  had  this  vision.  Elam  was  one  of  the  chief  provinces  of 
Persia,  embracing  Susa,  the  capital.  The  Greeks  gave  this  prov- 
ince the  name,  Elymais.  Elam  is  sometimes  used  as  another  name 
for  Persia.      The  name  appears  first  among  the  children  of  Shem 

((Jen.  10:  22). It  was  strictly  in  vision  and  only  so  that  Daniel 

was  by  the  river  Ulai;  as  one  in  a  dream  conceives  himself  to  be 
where  he  is  not.  It  is  only  by  this  distinction  between  his  actual 
presence  and  his  ideal  presence  that  I  account  for  these  two  state- 
ments; as  if  Daniel  would  say,  I  was  really  when  I  had  this  vision 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  VIII.  373 

at  Shushan  in  the  palace ;  but  when  I  came  to  see  things  in  vision, 
I  seemed  to  be  by  the  river  Ulai. It  is  noticeable  tliat  his  per- 
sonal stand-point  is  Persia — the  ppint  where  his  historic  vision  be- 
gins.    Chaldea  is  so  near  extinction  that  it  may  well  be  dropped. 

This  vision  is  none  the  less  truly  parallel  with  that  of  chap.  2 

and  that  of  chap.  7,  because,  being  shown  him  so  near  the  extinc- 
tion of  the  Chaldean  dynasty,  it  drops  off  that  as  no  longer  of  any 
account, 

3.  Then  I  lifted  up  mine  eyes,  and  saw,  and  behold,  there 
stood  before  the  river  a  ram  which  had  two  horns :  and  the 
tivo  horns  iverx  high ;  but  one  was  higher  than  the  other, 
and  the  higher  came  up  last. 

4.  I  saAV  the  ram  pushing  westward,  and  northward,  and 
southward;  so  that  no  beasts  might  stand  before  him, 
neither  tvas  there  any  that  could  deliver  out  of  his  hand ; 
but  he  did  according  to  his  will,  and  became  great. 

This  ram,  according  to  the  interpretation  (v.  20)  is  the  Medo- 
Persian  kingdom.  His  two  horns  are  two  kings,  one  of  J^ledia, 
viz.,  Darius  or  Astyages;  and  one  of  Persia,  viz.,  Cyrus.  These 
kings,  one  from  Media  and  the  other  from  Persia,  imply  the  union 
of  these  two  kingdoms,  since  the  united  realm  draws  its  kings  from 
either.  The  higher  of  these  two  horns  is  Cyrus.  He  came  up  last 
in  point  of  time.     These  two  kings,  in  a  sort,  represent  the  kingdoms 

from  which  they  severally  came. This  ram  pushes  his  conquests 

west,  north,  and  south,  omitting  only  the  east.  This  is  perfectly  in 
accordance  with  history.  This  INIedo-Persian  power  made  no  at- 
tempts to  push  eastward;  but  did  make  great  conquests  in  the 
directions  here  specified.  There  was  no  power  able  to  stand  before 
him ;  none  could  pluck  his  prey  from  his  grasp.  Of  course  he  be- 
came great. 

5.  And  as  I  was  considering,  behold,  a  he-goat  came  from 
the  west  on  the  face  of  the  whole  earth,  and  touched  not 
the  ground :  and  the  goat  had  a  notable  horn  between  his 
eyes. 

-  No  compend  of  history  could  draAV  the  outline  of  Alexander's 
conquest  of  Asia  better  than  this  prophetic  vision  has  done  it.  A 
"rough"  personage  to  deal  with  as  a  foe;  coming  from  the  west; 
sweeping  the  breadth  of  the  whole  land;  seeming  for  the  rapidity 
of  his  movements  not  to  touch  the  earth,  (like  the  leopard  with 
four  wings,  chap.  7:  6,)  and  with  one  notable  horn  between  his 
eyes — a  horn  specially  noticeable  and  the  prominent  feature  in  this 
now  power; — such  is  the  description,  and  such  was  Alexander  and 
his  Grecian  kingdom.  Yet  still  the  decisive  evidence  of  identity  is 
the  explicit  affirmation  of  the  revealing  angel  (v.  21),  "The  rough 
goat  is  the  king  of  Grecia,  and  the  great  horn  is  the  first  king." 
This  is  absolute  authority. Note  here  that  Daniel  and  his  read- 
ers had  nothing  to  do  with  Philip  of  Macedon,  a  vigorous  king  next 


374  DANIEL.— CHAP.  VIII. 

before  Alexander;  for  what  were  European  kinii;s  or  kingdoms  to 
them  ?  It  was  only  as  an  oriental  empire,  coming  into  special  re- 
lations to  the  Jews  that  Jewisb  prophecy  knew  Greece;  only  as 
such  a  monarch  that  it  knew  Alexander.  Hence  he  is  the  first 
Grecian  king. 

6.  And  he  came  to  the  ram  that  had  two  horns,  which  I 
had  seen  standing  before  the  river,  and  ran  unto  him  in  the 
fury  of  his  poAver. 

7.  And  I  saw  him  come  close  unto  the  ram,  and  he  was 
moved  with  choler  against  him,  and  smote  the  ram,  and 
brake  his  two  horns :  and  there  was  no  power  in  the  ram 
to  stand  before  him,  but  he  cast  him  down  to  the  ground, 
and  stamped  upon  him:  and  there  was  none  that  could 
deliver  the  ram  out  of  his  hand. 

Thus  with  fewest  words,  but  words  full  of  force,  Daniel  gives  in 
prophetic  anticipation  the  history  of  the  fall  of  Persia  before  the 
arms  of  Alexander.  Profane  history  verifies  every  point  most  per- 
fectly. Greece  had  long  been  nursing  her  revenge  for  the  invasion 
of  her  soil  by  Xerxes.  Alexander  had  the  energy  and  the  ambition 
to  'lead  her  vigorous  armies  to  this  retaliation.  .  He  came  against 
the  ram  "in  the  fury  of  his  power."  The  last  vision  (11:  2,  3) 
touches  Xerxes  and  then  glances  from  him  to  Alexander,  as  if  the 
spirit  of  inspiration  grasped  perfectly  the  springs  of  human  action 
which  threw  Greece   upon  Asia  and  made  her  one  of  the  great 

conquering  powers  of  the  East. It  is  well  known  history  that 

the  Medo-Persian  armies,  now  become  eifeminate  through  luxury, 
had  no  power  to  stand  before  Alexander  and  his  Grecian  forces. 
He  used  up  the  armed  hosts  of  Persia  with  amazing  rapidity. 
Twelve  years  sufficed  him  to  master  not  Persia  alone,  but  Tyre, 
Egypt,  and  all  the  East,  even  deeper  into  India  itself  than  the 
ancient  powers  of  Western  Asia  or  of  Europe  ever  went  b'efore  or 
after, 

8.  Therefore,  the  he-goat  waxed  very  great :  and  when  he 
was  strong,  the  great  horn  was  broken :  and  for  it,  came 
up  four  notable  ones  toward  the  four  winds  of  heaven. 

The  he-goat  became  very  great  in  the  sweep  of  his  absolute  SAvay 
over  the  eastern  world;  but  he  had  scarcely  reached  the  summit 
of  his  power  when  the  great  horn  was  broken.  Alexander  died 
suddenly  at  Babylon.  Strong  drink  (as  some  say  provoking  fever 
to  its  aid)  smote  him  down.  He  whom  none  of  the  mighty  warriors 
of  the  East  could  overcome  fell  suddenly  and  basely  before  the  in- 
toxicating cup.  In  such  near  proximity  came  the  glory  of  his 
greatness  and  the  shame  of  his  fall  \     "  When  he  was  strong,  the 

great  horn  was  broken." That  this  great  empire  was  cleft  into 

four  parts  is  a  well  known  fact  of  history.  Thrace  and  Macedon 
were  the  nucleus  of  the  European  and  Western  section;  Asia  Minor, 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  VIII.  375 

stretching  to  the  Euxine  and  the  Caspian,  lay  on  the  extreme  north  ; 
Syria,  north  as  to  Palestine,  pushed  its  empire  to  India,  and  became 
really  the  eastern  and  great  Asiatic  portion ;  while  Egypt  became 
the  center  for  the  southern  section.      "  Toward  the  four  winds  o£ 

heaven"  describes  their  location. Of  these  four  the  Jews  stood 

in  close  relations  only  to  Egypt  on  the  south  and  Syria  on  the 
north.      Hence  the  other  sections  are  at  once  dropped  from  these 

visions. The  special  exigencies  of  the  symbol  require  these  four 

kingdoms  to  appear  first  as  horns,  inasmuch  as  they  spring  up  on 
account  of  the  breaking  of  the  great  horn.  Indeed,  they  are  at 
first  only  kings,  but  ultimately  they  secured  for  themselves  king- 
doms. Hence  they  stand  in  the  vision  as  horns,  but  in  the  inter- 
pretation as  kingdoms.  Consequently  this  case  does  not  disprove 
the  position  heretofore  taken  that  the  natural  sense  of  the  symbol' 
of  the  horn  is  a  king,  and  that  this  must  certainly  be  its  sense 
ivhen  inspiration  affirms  it  to  be. 

9.  And  out  of  one  of  tliem  came  forth  a  little  horn, 
Avhich  waxed  exceeding  great,  toward  the  south,  and  toward 
the  east,  and  toward  the  pleasant  land. 

"Out  of  one  of  these"  means,  in  the  line  of  one  of  these  king- 
doms, viz.,  Syria.  That  he  rose  up  as  a  king  in  one  of  these  four 
kingdoms  is  explicitly  afiirmed  in  the  inspired  interjwetation  (vs. 

22,  23). He  is  a  "  little  horn,"  compared  with  Alexander  who 

is  a  "great  horn."  Hence  he  should  be,  like  Alexander,  a  king, 
and  not  (as  some  suppose)  a  church,  or  a  system  of  false  religion. 
Moreover,  it  is  also  implied  that  he  is  called  "little"  because  he 
was  so  at  the  first,  and  grew  to  more  greatness  by  dint  of  personal 

energy  and  effort. Our  verse  gives  the  geographical  points  toward 

which  he  pushed  his  conquests,  viz.,  "toward  the  south,"  Egypt; 
"  toward  the  east,"  13abylonia  and  Persia ;  and  "  toward  the  pleasant 
land,"  where  the  original  word  is  one  which  in  Daniel's  writings 
always  means  Palestine.  See  chap.  11:  16,  41.  Also  Ezek.  20: 
6,  15.  Primarily  it  means  the  beauty  or  the  glory,  and  hence  would 
naturally  be  used  by  the  Hebrews  of  their  own  country,  which  they 
accounted  the  glory  of  all  lands.     Such  is  the  historical  programme 

of  Antiochus  Epiphanes. The  reader  will  notice  how  the  symbol 

of  a  horn  shades  off  at  once  into  the  reality  of  a  king ;  for  this  de- 
scription paints,  not  the  growth  of  a  horn  as  such,  but  the  enlarge- 
ment of  a  kingdom  by  the  efibrts  of  its  king,  pushing  his  con- 
quests. 

10.  And  it  waxed  great,  even  to  the  host  of  heaven ;  and 
it  cast  down  some  of  the  host  and  of  the  stars  to  the  ground, 
and  stamped  upon  them. 

11.  Yea,  he  magnified  himself  even  to  the  prince  of  the 
host,  and  by  him  the  daily  sacrifice  was  taken  away,  and  the 
place  of  his  sanctuary  was  cast  down. 


376  DANIEL.— CHAr.  VIII. 

The  word  which  mainly  gives  the  clew  to  the  sense  of  this  pas- 
sage is  "  host."  It  is  often  used  for  the  soldiers  of  an  army;  some- 
times for  the  stars,  and  all  those  apparently  lesser  bodies  that  seem 
crowded  closely  together.  I  take  it  to  be  used  here  for  the  people 
of  God,  considered  as  composing  his  militant  church  and  kingdom 
on  earth,  as  in  Josh.  5:  14;  "Nay,  but  as  captain  of  the  Lord's 
host  am  1  now  come."  The  qualifying  words,  "of  heaven,"  in  the 
phrase  "host  of  heaven,"  may  come  from  Daniel's  conception  of 
this  kingdom  as  set  up  by  "the  God  of  heaven"  (2:  44),  and  hence 
properly  called  "the  kingdom  of  heaven."     This  is  precisely  the 

militant  church  on  earth,  warring  for  her  Redeemer-King. ''It 

cast  doAvn  some  of  the  host,  even  of  the  stars,  to  the  ground;" 
where  we  must  not  think  of  the  stars  in  the  firmament  of  the  sky, 
but  of  the  distinguished  leaders  in  the  sacramental  host.  "8tar" 
is  used  by  the  Orientals  in  this  sense,  as  in  the  "parable"  of  Ba- 
laam; "There  shall  come  a  star  out  of  Jacob,  and  a  scepter  shall 
rise  out  of  Israel" — referring  to  David,  a  king  wielding  a  human 
scepter.  (Num.  24:'  17.)  Tlie  sense  of  v.  10  is  that  this  little 
horn-king  made  war  upon  the  people  of  God  and  destroyed  some 
of  their  distinguished  leaders.  V.  11  states  that  he  dared  to  wage 
war  against  the  God  of  the  Jews,  the  Immanuel  who  appeared  to 
Joshua  as  "the  Prince  of  the  host,"  (translated  there  "Captain," 
but  it  is  the  same  word  as  here,  Prince;)  and  consequently  he 
sacrilegiously  broke  up  the  established,  divinely  ordained,  temple 
sacrifices,  and  "cast  down"  the  place  of  his  manifested  presence 

and  abode. The  original  Hebrew,  rendered,  "i?y  him  the  daily 

sacrifice  was  taken  away,"  is  peculiar.  It  means  either  that  one 
sent  forth  from  and  by  him  took  aAvay  the  daily  sacrifice ;  or  more 
abstractly,  that  by  reason  of  him — at  his  instance,  one  took  away, 
etc.  It  is  remarkable  that  precisely  the  same  expression  is  used 
in  stating  the  same  fact  (chap.  11 :  31);  "From  him  or  at  his  com- 
mand, a  military  force  ('arms')  shall  be  organized  and  sent 
forth."  So  I  paraphrase  the  first  clause  of  this  verse — such  being 
obviously  the  sense  of  this  clause,  which  is  obscurely  rendered, 
"arms  shall  stand  on  his  part."  The  prophet  means  to  say  that 
this  military  force  was  sent  from  and  by  him,  but  was  not  led  by 
him  in  person.  This  is  precisely  the  sense  of  his  language,  and 
this  too  is  the  historic  fact.  Antiochus  Epiphanes  sent  his  chief 
collector  of  tribute  (1  Mac.  1 :  29)  and  he  seized  Jerusalem  and 
took  away  the  daily  sacrifice. The  Hebrew  for  "the  daily  sacri- 
fice "  is  but  one  word.  This  word  means,  "  the  perpetual  ' — that 
wliich  occurs  continually.  It  was  in  established  use  among  the 
Jews  for  their  most  constant  and  most  frequently  recurring  sticri- 
fice,  that  which  was  offered  each  morning  and  each  evening.  There 
can  be  no  question  of  the  correctness  of  tliis  rendering,  "  the  daily 
sacrifice,"  nor  can  there  be  a  doul)t  that  it  should  be  understood  in 
the  Jewish  sense.  It  is  simply  inqiossible  that  a  Jewish  writer 
should  use  the  phrase  in  any  other  sense,  or  that  his  Jewish  read- 
ers could  think  of  any  thing  else  than  this. Naturally  it  carries 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  VIII.  377 

\\-ith  it  all  the  other  customary  temple  sacrifices.  Not  this  alone 
was  taken  away,  but  all.     The  implication  is,  If  this,  then  aU. 

12.  And  a  host  was  given  liim  against  the  daily  sacrifice 
by  reason  of  transgression,  and  it  cast  down  the  truth  to 
the  ground;  and  it  practiced  and  prospered. 

The  prophecy  goes  on  still  to  say  that  "some  of  the  host"  {i.  e., 
of  God's  people),  "are  given  into  his  hand,  in  addition  to  the  daily 
sacrifice,  by  reason  of  sin;"  for  so,  I  translate  the  preposition  which 
stands  before  the  word  for  daily  sacrifice.  Other  cases  of  similar 
usage  occur,  Ex.  35:  22;  "And  they  came,  the  men  in  addition  to 
the  women,"  etc..  Our  English  version  has  it,  "both  men  and 
women."  Also  Amos  3:  15;  "I  will  smite  the  winter  house  in  ad- 
dition to  the  summer  house;"  not  strictly  one  upon  the  other  in  the 
same  pile  of  ruins.  So  Hos.  10 :  14.  This  sense  is  confirmed  by 
the  last  clause  of  v.  13,  which  shows  that  the  thing  done  was  the 
givinii;  of  both  the  sanctuary  and  the  host  to  be  trodden  under  foot. 

This  was  a  judgment  on  the  Jews  for  their  sins,  "by  reason 

of  transgression."  Both  the  authors  of  the  books  of  Maccabees 
assign  the  same  cause,  which  seems  to  indicate  a  somewhat  general, 
perhaps  national,  sense  of  the  relation  between  their  sufferings  un- 
der God's  judgments,  and  the  sins  for  which  he  sent  them.     See  1 

Maccabees  iT  11-15,  G4,  and   2  Mac.  5:  17,   and  6:  12. This 

horn-power  cast  down  the  truth — its  interests  and  cause — and  for 
a  time  seemed  to  have  every  thing  his  own  way. 

13.  Then  I  heard  one  saint  speaking,  and  another  saint 
said  unto  that  certain  saint  wdiich  spake,  How  long  shall 
he  the  vision  concerning  the  daily  sacrifice,  and  the  trans- 
gression of  desolation,  to  give  both  the  sanctuary  and  the 
host  to  be  trodden  under  foot  ? 

14.  And  he  said  unto  me.  Unto  two  thousand  and  three 
hundred  days ;  then  shall  the  sanctuary  be  cleansed. 

Daniel  hears  one  of  the  holy  ones  (attendant  angels)  speaking  as 
if  about  to  explain  some  point  of  the  vision,  when  lo,  another  of 
the  angels  led  his  mind  to  the  question  of  ti7ne,  asking  how  long 
that  part  of  the  vision  should  be  which  refers  to  the  daily  sacrifice 
and  the  sin  that  .works  ruin,  (referring  to  the  sin  brought  forward 
in  V.  12,  as  the  cause  of  this  judgment,)  and  which  involves  giving 
])oth  the  sanctuary  and  the  host  to  be  trodden  under  foot.  Such  1 
take  to  be  the  meaning  of  this  question.  The  three  Hebrew  words 
that  next  follow  "vision,"  rendered,  "the  daily;"  "the  transgres- 
sion;" "of  desolation;"  must  have  been  added  to  limit  it  to  a  cer- 
tain part  of  the  whole.  For  the  inquirer  docs  not  ask  or  care  to 
know  how  long  the  dominion  of  the  ram  and  of  the  he-goat  should 
continue.  There  being  no  special  intimation  that  they  will  greatly 
aftlict  his  people,  he  can  pass  over  that  point  readily ;  but  he  does 
wish  to  know  how  long  the  daily  sacrifice  will  be  suspended  and 


378  DANIEL.— CHAP.  VIII. 

how  lonf];  this  sin  of  the  covenant  people  will  continue  to  call  down 
judj^ments  from  the  Lord  upon  them.  These  are  matters  that  lie 
heavily  on  his  heart.  Moreover  the  last  clause  involves  precisely 
tliis  limitation,  viz.,  to  that  part  of  the  vision  which  refers  to  giving 

the  sanctuary  and  the  host  to  be  trodden  under  foot. In  the 

clause  rendered,  '"the  transgression  of  desolation,"  I  understand  the 
word  for  transgression  to  refer  to  the  same  word  in  the  first  clause 
of  V.  12;  "by  reason  of  transgression^^'  both  because  this  word  is 
the  same,  and  because  it  has  here  the  article  equivalent  to,  "  that 
transgression."  It  is  called  desolating  (the  sense  of  the  participle) 
because  it  is  the  occasion  of  these  judgments  from  God  upon  his 
apostate  people.  Daniel  would  know  how  long  these  judgments  for 
this  sin  will  continue.     It  is  vital  to  get  precisely  the  sense  of  the 

question  as  the  first  step  toward  the  true  answer. In  v.  14  the 

Hebrew  rendered  "days"  is  "evening  morning."  Yet  the  mean- 
ing is  no  doubt  merely  day  in  the  sense  of  twenty-four  hours,  the 
time  of  one  revolution  of  the  earth  on  its  axis.  This  peculiar  ex- 
pression may  be  chosen  to  denote  full  days,  made  up  of  the  night 
and  the  day. Did  the  Spirit  of  Inspiration  intend  by  this  expres- 
sion to  throw  up  a  barrier  against  the  absurdity  of  supposing  that 
one  of  these  days  means  three  hundred  and  sixty  common  days, 
hinting  to  us  that  his  day  is  one  evening  and  one  morning  ?  If  so, 
it  is  only  the  more  sad  to  think  of  so  much  labor  lost  in  guarding 
prophecy  against  absurd  and  vicious  interpretations. The  He- 
brew for  "cleansed"  means  usually  "justified,"  but  here,  "set 
right,"  put  into  its  proper  condition  for  its  appropriate  use.  Since 
the  evil  to  be  remedied  was  its  pollution  and  desecration  by  idol- 
worship,    "cleansed"    well  expresses  the  sense. 

It  remains  to  inquire  into  the  historic  fulfillment  of  these  twenty- 
three  hundred  days. As  already  suggested,  the  inquiry  should 

begin  with  a  clear  and  just  apprehension  of  the  question.  Let  it  be 
carefully  borne  in  mind  that  the  important  points  made  in  the  pas- 
sage, vs.  10-12,  are  precisely  two,  viz.,  (I.)  That  this  little  horn- 
king  wickedly  carriec}  desolation  into  the  "pleasant  land,"  casting 
to  the  ground  and  stamping  down  some  of  the  distinguished  leaders 

of  the  Jews — "the  host  and  the  stars." (2.)  That  he  took  away 

the  daily  sacrifice,  and  by  implication  all  the  other  sacrifices  as 
well.  The  question,  "  How  long  ?  "  refers  to  these  two  points — none 
other.  As  to  these  two,  he  would  know  their  duration. The  an- 
swer may  be  expected  to  give  this,  at  least  proximately.     It  docs. 

The  chief  historical  authorities  still  extant  are  the  two  books 

of  Maccabees.  Unfortunately  these  books,  and  especially  the  sec- 
ond, rarely  give  exact  dates.     But  the  following   points  are  well 

established.^ The  sanctuary  was  cleansed  Dec.  25,  164  B.  C.    See 

I  Mac.  4 :  52,  with  I  Mac.  1 :  54,  59.  At  this  point  the  twenty- 
three  hundred  days  (==  6  years,  3  m.  and  20  days)  mu.st  close. 
From  this  point  we  go  back  three  and  a  half  3^ears,  spanning  the 
period  during  which  the  daily  sacrifice  was  suspended,  to  June  25, 
I()7  B.  C.  So  long  the  altar-iires  ceased  to  burn;  the  daily  sacrifice 
was  not  made.     But  six  and  a  quarter  years   carry  us  back  yet 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  VIII.  379 

further.  So  also,  the  "  treading  down"  of  some  of  the  host  and  of 
the  stars  lies  yet  farther  back.  Just  two  years  before  this,  viz.,  in 
June,  169  13.  C.  Antiochus  Epiphanes  returned  from  his  second  mil- 
itary expedition  into  Egypt,  greatly  enraged  against  the  Jews  be- 
cause he  had  heard  that  they  had  been  making  great  demonstra- 
tions of  joy  over  a  report  of  his  death.  He  fell  upon  the  city  with 
the  sword,  making  a  terrific  slaughter  of  "the  host"  of  the  Lord's 
people.  The  first  book  of  Maccabees  says  of  this  event ;  "  After 
Antiochus  had  smitten  Egypt,  he  returned  in  the  one  hundred  and 
forty-third  year"  (of  the  iSelcucidae,  13.  C.  169)  "and  went  up 
against  Israel  and  Jerusalem  with  a  great  multitude,"  etc. ;  pillaged 
the  temple  and  city;  then  "went  into' his  own  land,  having  made  a 
great  massacre  and  spoken  very  proudly"  (1  Mac.  1 :  20-24).  "And 
after  two  years  fully  expired.,  the_  king  sent  his  chief  collector  of 
tribute,"  etc.  This  was  the  expedition  which  bears  date  June,  167 
B.  C,  and  which  desecrated  the  temple  and  suspended  the  sacri- 
fices (1  Mac.  1  :  29). The  second  book  of  Maccabees  is  more  in 

detail  on  this  point,  but  without  very  exact  dates,  connecting  it, 
however,  with  the  second  expedition  of  Antiochus  into  Egypt,  and 
showing  further  that  immediately  upon  the  receipt  of  the  false 
rumor  of  the  king's  death,  Jason,  one  of  his  minions  in  Judea, 
"  took  at  least  a  thousand  men  and  suddenly  made  an  assault  upon 
the  city,  and  slew  his  own  citizens  without  mercy."  Here  some  of 
"  the  host"  fell,  at  a  period  considerably  earlier  than  June,  169 13.  C. 
His  account  of  the  massacre  made  by  the  king  is  full,  showing  it  to 
have  been  terrific.  From  what  the  king  heard  in  Egypt,  "  he 
thought  Judea  had  revolted,  whereupon  removing  out  of  Egypt  in  a 
furious  mind,  he  took  the  city  by  force  of  arms  and  commanded  his 
men  of  Avar  not  to  spare  such  as  they  met,  and  to  slay  such  as  went 
up  upon  the  houses.  Thus  there  was  killing  of  young  and  old, 
making  away  of  men,  women,  and  children ;  slaying  of  virgins  and 
infants.  And  there  were  destroyed  within  three  whole  days  four 
score  thousand,  whereof  forty  thousand  were  slain  in  the  conflict, 
and  no  fewer  sold  than  slain"  (2  Mac.  5:  11-1-1).  But  the  full 
period  of  twenty-three  hundred  days  runs  back  yet  a  fraction  of  a 
year  further.  The  onslaught  of  Jason  was  probably  in  May,  169 
B.  C  The  period  named  in  our  passage  (six  years,  thVee  months 
and  twenty  days)  should  begin  about  Hept.  5,  170  B.  C.  The  au- 
thor of  the  second  book  of  Maccabees,  in  his  fourth  chapter,  imme- 
diately preceding  that  quoted  above,  records  the  murder  of  the 
good  Onias,  long  time  high  priest,  a  "Star"  of  the  first  magnitude, 
whose  influence  had  long  withstood  the  wickedness  of  the  times; 
the  murder  also  of  the  three  Jewish  deputies  who  went  to  meet  the 
king  at  Tyre,  and  obtain  his  interposition  against  Men^laus.  This 
jSlenelaus  was  a  vile  apostate ;  a  minion  of  Antiochus,  subserving 
his  interests  by  drawing  the  people  into  Grecian  customs  and  idol- 
atry. Indirectly,  what  he  did  in  the  way  of  persecuting  the  Jews 
was  done  by  Antiochus  himself  Hence  these  murders  of  four  dis- 
tinguished Jewish  leaders  should  be  set  to  the  account  of  this  little 
horn.     They  all  seem  to  have  occurred  in  the  year  170  B.  C.    More- 


380  DANIEL.— CHAP.  VIII. 

over  it  was  in  the  year  B.  C.  170  that  Antiochus  made  his  first  ex- 
pedition into  E.uypt,  in  which  he  naturally  passed  through  Judea. 
It  is  not  strange  that  a  period  intended  to  cover  the  whole  time  of 
casting  down  "some  of  the  host  and  of  the  stars,"  unto  the  "  cleans- 
ing of  the  sanctuary"  should  embrace  the  murder  of  Onias  and  of 
the  three  deputies  to  Tyre,  and  also  the  period  of  his  first  military 
expedition  through  their  country. This  is  the  amount  of  histor- 
ical verification  which  I  am  able  to  ol)tain  from  any  authentic 
source  at  my  command. ]t  may  fitly  be  added  here  that  the  ma- 
terials for  a  full  history  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  in  the  line  of  pro- 
fane historians,  are  scanty.  Jahn  remarks  that  "  the  writings  which 
treat  of  this  period  by  Callinicus  Sutoricus,  Diodorus  Siculus,  Ilier- 
onymus  the  historian,  Polybius  Posidonius,  Claudius  Theon  and 
Andronicus  Alypius,  are  all  lost  except  a  few  fragments  preserved 
by  other  authors,  and  we  have  these  only  from  the  second  or  third 
liand."  Porphyry,  a  learned  infidel  of  the  third  century,  wrote 
against  the  Christians  in  fifteen  books,  of  which  the  twelfth  was  de- 
voted to  Daniel,  to  prove  from  the  great  accuracy  of  his  pro})liecy 
when  applied  to  Antiochus  Epiphanes  and  his  times,  that  it  must 
have  been  written  as  history  after  the  events.  He  drcAV  largely  from 
the  classic  authors  above  named ;  but  unfortunately  his  work  is  lost, 
except  as  quotations  from  it  have  come  down  to  us  in  Jerome's  com- 
mentary on  Daniel  in  reply  to  Porphyry.  Three  other  Christian 
writers  replied  to  his  work,  but  all  these  are  lost  except  a  few  frag- 
ments copied  into  other  authors.  Of  these  three,  that  by  Apollina- 
rius  is  much  lamented,  having  the  reputation  of  being  very  accurate. 

This  paucity  of  historic  material  is  an  ample  apology  for  any 

apparent  deficiency  in  making  out  the  precise  historic  verification 
of  this  time-period  which  refers  to  events  so  remote,  and  which 
gives  lis  periods  so  very  minute  as  the  number  of  days.  And  even 
tliis  number  (2300)  may  be  round  and  general,  and  not  precise  and 
particular.  Yet  the  approximation  which  is  obtained,  despite  of 
such  dilliculties,  will  satisfy  fair-minded  readers. 

15.  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  I,  even  I  Daniel,  had 
seen  the  vision,  and  sought  for  the  meaning,  then  behold, 
there  stood  before  me  as  the  appearance  of  a  man. 

16.  And  I  heard  a  man's  voice  between  the  banks  o/Ulai, 
which  called,  and  said,  Gabriel,  make  this  man  to  under- 
stand the  vision. 

17.  So  he  came  near  where  I  stood :  and  when  he  came, 
I  was  afraid,  and  fell  upon  my  face :  but  he  said  unto  me. 
Understand,  O  son  of  man :  for  at  the  time  of  the  end  i>hall 
he  the  vision. 

18.  Now  as  he  was  speaking  Avith  me,  I  was  in  a  deep 
sleep  on  my  face  toward  the  ground :  but  lie  touched  me, 
and  set  me  upright. 

19.  And  he  said.  Behold,  I  will  make  thee  know  what 


DANIEL.— CHAr.  VIII.  381 

shall  be  in  the  last  end  of  the  indignation :  for  at  the  time 
appointed  the  end  shall  he. 

This  passage  describes  the  way  in  which  Daniel  obtained  from 
the  Angel  Gal)riel  an  explanation  of  this  vision.  As  bearing  upon 
the  date  of  its  fulfilhnent  and  the  occasion  of  these  calamites  sent 
on  the  Jews,  the  words  (vs.  17  and  19)  "at  the  time  of  the  end 
shall  be  the  vision ; "  "  what  shall  be  in  the  last  end  of  tlie  indig- 
nation;" "  for  at  the  time  appointed  the  end  shall  be;"  should  be 
carefully  considered.  The  same  or  similar  expressions  occur  chap. 
11:  27,  35,  36,  40,  and  12:  4,  9.  Other  passages  illustrative  of 
these,  are  Dan.  10 :  14,  and  8 :  26.  Whoever  shall  carefully  exam- 
ine these  passages  will  see  that  they  refer  to  the  time  when  these 
great  persecutions  and  calamities  upon  the  Jews  will  occur;  that 
they  speak  of  it  as  a  time  of  God's  indignation  against  them  for 
their  sins;  and  as  determined  in  his  divine  counsels.  Further- 
more, they  approximate  toward  the  definite  time  for  these  events 
by  calling  it,  "the  time  of  the  end,"  or  as  chap.  10:  14,  has  it, 
"In  the  latter  days."  The  passage  chap.  8:  17,  rendered  "at  the 
time  of  the  end  shall  be  the  vision,"  I  take  to  mean  that  this  vis- 
ion looks  toward  the  time  of  the  end  for  its  fulfillment :  it  relates 
to  events  which  shall  take  place  near  "the  time  of  the  end."  The 
end  here  is  manifestly,  not  the  final  end  of  all  earthly  things,  but 
the  end  of  the  age  before  Clirist.  The  Jews  were  accustomed  to 
speak  of  the  times  of  the  Messiah  as  "the  last  times;"  the  "last" 
or  the  "latter  days."  Very  naturally,  therefore,  the  period  before 
his  coming  was  definitely  marked  off  by  that  coming,  and  it  would 
be  the  end  of  the  previous  age  of  the  world.  Now,  we  have  already 
seen  in  chap.  7  that  these  calamities  must  precede  Christ's  inaugu- 
ration in  his  great  kingdom ;  but  since  they  lie  very  near  it,  they 
are  near  "the  time  of  the  end,"  Hence  these  expressions  refer  to 
the  cruel  and  bloody  persecutions  of  the  Jews  by  Antiochus  Epiph- 
anes  and  the  long  wars  which,  commenced  by  him,  continued  about 
twenty-four  years,  inflicting  great  calamities  upon  the  Jewish  nation. 
The  period  was  specially  one  of  God's  indignation  against  the  apos- 
tate Jews  for  their  fall  into  heathenism  under  the  influences  then 
pervading  the  East.  The  revealing  angel  declares  (v.  19);  "I  will 
make  thee  know  what  shall  be  in  the  last  end  of  the  indignation," 
for  this  "end  shall  be  at  the  time  appointed."  This  implies  that 
the  Lord  had  indignation  toward  the  people  for  their  general  re- 
lapse into  idolatry,  and  had  fully  purposed  to  scourge  them  sorely 

by  the  little  horn-power  for  this  great  sin. As  going  to  show 

that  there  was  at  this  time  an  amount  of  national  degeneracy  truly 
alarming,  and  such  as  demanded  from  their  divine  Shepherd  the 
sternest  methods  of  national  discipline  and  judgment,  let  us  pause 
here  a  moment  to  look  at  the  facts  of  their  case  in  this  respect. 

Taking  our  stand-point  at  the  commencement  of  the  reign  of 

Antiochus  Epiphanes  (B.  C.  175),  it  is  now  two  hundred  and 
twenty-five  years  since  the  age  of  Malachi  and  Nehcmiah,  when 
we  may  remember  that  the  last  reformation  recorded  in  Oli^  Testa- 


382  DANIEL.— CHAP.  VIII. 

ment  history  found  its  main  work  to  be  to  withstand  the  tendencies 
to  a  dani^orously  intimate  association,  social  and  commercial,  with 
the  idolaters  around  them.  These  tendencies  did  not  cease  with 
that  reformation.  It  is  more  than  three  hundred  and  sixty  years 
since  the  age  of  Daniel,  Cyrus  and  Zerubbabel,  when  this  proph- 
ecy was  given,  and  when  the  great  moral  lessons  of  a  seventy 
years'  captivity  had  for  once  impressed  on  the  national  mind  a 
solemn  warning  against  idolatry.  In  the  lapse  of  ten  generations, 
it  is  not  strange  that  those  lessons  should  have  lost  much  of  their 
vividness  and  power.  Yet  further,  note  that  it  is  now  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  years  since  the  conquests  of  Alexander  the  Great, 
sweeping  over  all  Western  Asia  and  Northern  Africa,  brought 
with  them  all  the  great  elements  of  Grecian  life  and  civilization — 
their  literature,  their  manners,  their  public  amusements,  their 
dress,  and  not  least,  their  attractive  idolatry.  These 'new  elements 
fell  upon  the  less  vigorous  and  more  susceptible  Oriental  mind 
with  the  greater  power  because  borne  by  the  hand  of  the  conquer- 
ing people,  and  backed  by  the  influence  and  authority  of  the  ruling 

class. To  all  these  circumstances  add  yet  further  that  ever  since 

the  captivity,  i.  g,,  during  now  five  hundred  and  thirty  years,  the 
Jews  have  been,  not  mainly  concentrated  as  of  old,  in  Palestine, 
but  more  or  less  Avidely  dispersed  abroad  among  the  various  tribes 
and  peoples  throughout  Asia  even  to  India,  and  in  Egypt.  It  is 
supposed  that  in  the  great  restoration,  full  as  many  remained  be- 
hind as  returned  to  Judea.  And  subsequently,  even  down  to  our 
present  stand-point,  B.  C.  175,  colonization  had  drained  many  of 
their  families  from  their  mother-land.  The  Jews  were  regarded  as 
desirable  colonists.  In  point  of  industry,  vigor,  and  especially  of 
fidelity  to  their  friends,  they  stood  far  above  any  other  Oriental 
population.  Hence  it  was  no  uncommon  thing  that  kings,  desiring 
to  build  up  strong  cities  and  a  substantial  state,  bid  high  for  Jew- 
ish colonists.  By  this  means  they  became  yet  more  widely  dis- 
persed, and  more  mingled  with  idolaters. And  finally,  let  us 

make  due  account  of  this  fact  that  since  the  death  of  Alexander, 
the  frequent  wars  between  Egypt  on  the  south  and  Syria  on  the 
north,  caused  Judea  to  be  repeatedly  traversed  to  and  fro  by  for- 
eign armies,  which  of  course  brought  the  people  into  various  con- 
tact with  their  heathen  neighbors,  and  quite  broke  up  that  seclusion 
which  the  genius  of  the  Jewish  theocracy  fostered  and  needed  for 
its  best  working.  Here  then  is  a  broad  array  of  social  and  polit- 
ical influences,  all  tending  to  weaken  their  piety  and  relax  the  tone 
of  their  national  feeling.  Under  these  influences  they  were  in  im- 
minent peril  of  being  utterly  swept  away  into  Grecian  heathenism. 

Let  us  notice  some  of  the  indications  of  this  fact  in  the  books 

of  the  Maccabees. Starting  at  precisely  our  stand-point,  where 

Antiochus  Epiphancs  began  his  reign,  the  author  of  the  first  book 
says  (1:  11-15);  "In  those  days  went  there  out  of  Israel  wicked 
men,  who  persuaded  many,  sa^^ing,  Let  us  go  and  make  a  covenant 
with  the  heathen  that  are  round  about  us ;  for  since  we  departed 
from  tlgem  we  have  had  much  sorrow.    So  this  device  pleased  them 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  VIII.       .  38,'^ 

well.  Then  certain  of  the  people  were  so  forward  herein  that  they 
went  to  the  king,  w^ho  gave  them  license  to  do  after  the  ordinances 
of  the  heathen.  Whereupon  they  built  a  place  of  exercise  for  the 
Grecian  athletic  games  at  Jerusalem  according  to  the  customs  of 
the  heathen,  and  made  themselves  uncircumcised,  and  forsook  tlic 
holy  covenant  and  joined  themselves  to  the  heathen,  and  were  sold 
to  do  mischief"  "Many  of  the  Israelites  consented  to  the  king's 
religion,  sacrificed  to  idols  and  profaned  the  Sabbath."  (V.  43.) 
When  the  king  sent  overseers  to  enforce  his  own  religious  system, 
"  many  of  the  Jewish  people  were  gathered  unto  them,  to-wit,  every 
one  that  forsook  the  law ;  and  so  they  committed  evils  in  the  land, 

and  drove  the  Israelites  into  secret  places"  (vs.  52,  53). The 

author  of  the  second  book  gives  some  telling  details  (as  usual)  to 
the  same  point;  how  Jason,  the  apostate,  "brought  up  new  cus- 
toms against  the  law,  for  he  built  gladly  a  place  of  exercise  under 
the  tower  itself,  and  brought  the  chief  young  men  under  his  sub- 
jection, and  made  them  wear  a  hat.  Now  such  was. the  height  of 
Greek  fashions  and  increase  of  heathenish  manners  through  the 
exceeding  profaneness  of  Jason,  that  ungodly  wretch  and  not  high 
priest,  that  the  priests  had  no  courage  to  serve  any  more  at  the  altar, 
but  despising  the  temple  and  neglecting  the  sacrifices,  hastened  to 
be  partakers  of  the  unlawful  allowance  in  the  place  of  exercise 
after  the  game  of  Discus  called  them  forth"  (2  Mac.  4:  11-14). 

He  gives  his  views  of  these  great  afflictions  permitted  of  God 

to  come  upon  his  people,  thus ;  "  Now  I  beseech  those  that  read 
this  book  that  they  be  not  discourftgcd  for  these  calamities,  but 
that  they  judge  those  punishments  not  to  be  for.  destruction,  but 
for  a  chastening  of  our  nation.  For  it  is  a  token  of  his  great 
goodness  when  wicked  doers  are  not  suffered  any  long  time,  but 
forthwith  punished.  For  not  as  with  other  nations  whom  the  Lord 
patiently  forbeareth  to  punish  till  they  be  come  to  the  fullness  of 

their  sins;  so  dealeth  he  with  us"  (2  Mac.  6:  12-14). Smith's 

Bible  Dictionary  (art.  "Antiochus")  presents  similar  views  forci- 
bly. "  The  reign  of  Antiochus  was  the  last  great  crisis  in  the 
history  of  the  Jews  before  the  coming  of  our  Lord."  "  The  con- 
quest of  Alexander  had  introduced  the  forces  of  Greek  thought 
and  life  into  the  Jewish  nation,  which  was  already  prepared  for 
their  operation.  For  more  than  a  century  and  a  half,  these  forces 
had  acted  powerfully  both  upon  the  faith  and  upon  the  habits  of 
the  people;  and  the  time  was  come  when  an  outward  struggle 
alone  could  decide  whether  Judaism  was  to  be  merged  in  a  ration- 
alized Paganism,  or  to  rise  not  only  victorious  from  the  conflict, 
but  more  vigorous  and  more  pure.  There  were  many  symptoms 
that  betokened  the  approaching  struggle.  The  position  which 
Judea  occupied  on  the  borders  of  the  conflicting  empires  of  Syria 
and  Egypt,  exposed  equally  to  the  open  miseries  of  war  and  the 
treacherous  favors  of  rival  sovereigns,  rendered  its  national  condi- 
tion precarious  from  the  first,  though  these  very  circumstances  were 
favorable  to  the  growth  of  freedom.  The  terrible  crimes  by  which 
"the  wars  of  the  north  and  the  south"  were  stained  must  have 


384  DANIEL.— CHAP.  VIII. 

alienated  the  mind  of  every  faithful  Jew  from  his  Grecian  lords, 
even  if  persecution  had  not  been  superadded  from  Egypt  first,  and 
then  from  Syria.  Politically  nothing  was  left  for  the  people  in  the 
reign  of  Antiochus  but  independence,  or  the  abandonment  of  every 
prophetic  hope.  Nor  was  their  social  position  less  perilons.  The 
influence  of  Greek  literature,  of  foreign  travel,  of  extended  com- 
merce, had  made  itself  felt  in  daily  life.  At  Jerusalem  the  mass 
of  the  inhabitants  seem  to  have  desired  to  imitate  the  exercises 
of  the  Greeks ;  and  a  Jewish  embassy  attended  the  games  of  Her- 
cules at  Tyre  (2  Mac.  4:  9-20),  Even  their  religious  feelings  were 
yielding ;  and  before  the  rising  of  the  Maccabees  no  opposition  was 
offered  to  the  execution  of  the  king's  decrees.  Upon  the  first  at- 
tempt of  Jason,  the  priests  had  no  courage  to  serve  at  the  altar, 
and  this  not  so  much  from  willful  apostasy  as  from  a  disregard  to 
the  vital  principles  involved  in  the  conflict.  Thus  it  was  necessary 
that  the  final  issues  of  a  false  Hellenism  should  be  openly  seen 
that  it  might  be  discarded  forever  by  those  who  cherished  the 
ancient  faith  of  Israel." These  views  suffice  to  show  the  signifi- 
cance of  the  allusion  in  our  passage  to  "  the  last  end  of  the  indig- 
nation," "at  the  time  appointed,"  and  why  (as  v.  23  indicates)  this 
scourge  of  God,  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  was  suffered  to  come  down 
on  them  precisely  when  "the  transgressors  were  come  to  the  full." 

20.  The  ram  which  thou  sawest  having  two  horns  are  the 
kings  of  Media  and  Persia. 

21.  And  the  rough  goat  is-  the  king  of  Grecia :  and  the 
great  horn  that  is  between  his  eyes  is  the  first  king. 

22.  Now  that. being  broken,  whereas  four  stood  up  for  it, 
four  kingdoms  shall  stand  up  out  of  the  nation,  but  not  in 
his  poAver. 

This  interpretation,  given  through  Gabriel,  the  revealing  angel, 
definitely  affirms  and  therefore  proves  that  the  ram  with  two  horns 
is  the  Medo-Persian  empire,  its  composite  character  being  indicated 
by  the  two  horns,  each  of  which  represents  one  of  the  original  king- 
doms. So  also  it  shows  that  the  goat  is  the  Grecian  power  as  de- 
veloped in  Alexander.  It  is  not  strange  that  the  angel  should  say 
first  that  the  goat  is  (not  the  Icingdom^  but)  the  ^'' king  of  Grecia;^' 
and  next  that  "  the  great  horn  is  the  first  king."  For  as  seen  in 
the  vision,  it  was  not  the  kingdom  Init  the  king.  The  one  great 
power  was  Alexander.  As  seen  by  Daniel  there  was  yet  virtually 
no  kingdom — certainly  no  Asiatic,  oriental  kingdom.  It  was  only 
a  vigorous,  conquering  king,  moving  on  to  make  a  great  kingdom. 

When  Alexander  was  suddenly  broken  down  by  death,  four 

new  kingdoms  arose  out  of  the  loose  fragments  of  his  great  empire 
— not  in  his  power  indeed,  but  entirely  independent  of  any  will  of 
his  or  of  any  influence  growing  out  of  any  organization  or  arrange- 
ment made  by  him  wliilc  he  lived.  No  monarch  so  great  ever  left 
so  little  behind  him  to  determine  the  question  of  succession.  AVhen 
near  deatli,  and  asked  by  his  friends  to  wliom  he  would  leave  his 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  VIII.  385 

vast  empire,  lie  said  only,  "  To  the  worthiest."     In  fact  he  left  it 

to  be  fought  for  with  rivers  of  blood  one  quarter  of  a  century. 

The  four  powers  have  been  already  indicated  in  the  notes  on  v.  8. 
There  they  were  four  horns,  yet  really  four  kingdoms,  located  geo- 
graphically toward  the  four  cardinal  points.  Here  they  are  defi- 
nitely four  kingdoms. 

23.  And  in  the  latter  time  of  their  kingdom,  when  the 
transgressors  are  come  to  the  full,  a  king  of  fierce  couute- 
tenance,  and  understanding  dark  sentences,  shall  stand  up. 

This  verse  explains  v.  9.  "Out  of  one  of  them"  {i.  e.,  one  of 
those  four  kingdoms)  "came  forth  a  little  horn."  Here  tlie  angel 
interpreter  has  it;  "In  the  latter  time  of  their  kingdom,  a  king 
shall  stand  up."  The  horn  there  is  a  king  here.  It  is  of  course 
assumed  here  that  he  is  a  king  in  one  of  those  four  kingdoms. 
The  angel  therefore  proceeds  to  locate  him  yet  more  definitely  in 
point  of  time.  "In  the  latter  time  of  their  kingdom,"  and  "when 
the  transgressors"  (the  Jews)  "have  filled  up  the  measure  of  their 
sins,"  so  that  discipline  and  judgment  from  the  Lord's  hand  must 
needs  come  to  save  them.  This  king  is  Antiochus  Epiphanes.  He 
fills  the  description  in  every  particular :  no  other  personage  does 

or  can. As  to  his  point  of  time  in  the  Syrian  line  of  kings,  one 

hundred  and  thirty-seven  years  had  passed  when  he  came  to  the 
throne;  about  one  hundred  remained  after  his  death.  Moreover, 
the  kingdom  had  waned  very  much  as  compared  with  its  extent 
and  vigor  under  its  founder  Seleucus  Nicator;  and  hence  in  this 
point  of  light  might  naturally  be  thought  of  as  in  its  latter  stages. 
As  the  interpreter  said,  "in  the  latter  time  of  their  kingdom,"  it  is 
proper  to  note  that  two  out  of  these  four  kingdoms  had  already 
run  their  course  and  become  extinct  when  Antiochus  ascended  his 
throne.  As  a  whole  those  kingdoms  were  manifestly  "  in  their  lat- 
ter time." His  "fierce  countenance"  here  refers,  probably,  not 

to  his  physique  so  much  as  to  his  character;  i.  e.,  to  him  as  seen 
in  vision  with  his  character  written  on  his  very  face,  rather  than 
as  seen  by  merely  human  eyes  in  the  flesh.  It  means  therefore 
that  he  was  ferocious,  passionate,  cruel.  Precisely  the  same  ex- 
pression is  used,  Deut.  28 :  50,  of  the  people  who  should  invade 
and  spoil  the  Jews  for  their  sins — "A  nation  of  fierce  countenance 
who  shall  not  regard  the  person  of  the  old,  nor  show  favor  to  the 

young." That  he  "should  understand  dark  sentences,"  intricate 

matters,  testifies  to  his  resources  for  cunning,  craft  and  policy,  as 
is  indicated  also  v.  25 :  "  Through  his  policy  he  shall  cause  craft  to 
prosper  in  his  hand." 

24.  And  his  power  shall  be  mighty,  but  not  by  his  own 
power :  and  he  shall  destroy  -wonderfully,  and  shall  prosper, 
and  practice,  and  shall  destroy  the  mighty  and  the  holy 
people. 

"  He  shall  be  strong,"  but  shall  not  obtain  this  power  by  legiti- 

17 


386  DANIEL.— CHAP.  VIIL 

mate  means,  sliall  not  be  the  rightful  heir  to  the  throne.  Such  is 
the  history  of  Antiochus.  He  was  the  youngest  son  of  Antiochus 
the  Great.  His  elder  brother,  Selcucus  Philopator,  reigned  eleven 
years.  Just  before  his  death,  he  sent  his  only  son,  Demetrius,  to 
Koine  as  a  hostage,  thus  exchanging  and  releasing  his  own  brother, 
Antiochus  Epipliancs,  who  had  been  there  in  that  capacity  twelve 
years.  The  king  fell  by  poison  at  the  hand  of  Heliodorus,  who 
sought  to  seize  the  kingdom.  Antiochus  heard  of  his  brother's 
death  while  at  Athens  on  his  way  home,  and  immediately  made 
interest  with  powerful  foreign  parties  to  gain  the  kingdom  for  him- 
self, and  succeeded — ungratefully  displacing  the  real  heir  to  the 

throne. Some  have  supposed  that  the  phrase,  "not  by  his  own 

power,"  looked  to  the  agency  of  divine  providence,  since  the  Lord 
had  occasion  to  use  him  as  his  scourge  upon  his  sinning  people.     I 

incline  to  the  former  view. He  shall  make  fearful  havoc  among 

the  nominal  people  of  God,  the  Jews.  iSo  the  reader  of  the  books 
of  the  Maccabees  will  see.  The  Jewish  wars  commenced  by  him 
continued  long  after  his  death,  in  all  about  twenty-four  years,  re- 
sulting at  length  in  the  independence  of  the  Jewish  nation  B.  C. 
143,  but  at  the  cost  of  many  thousands  of  Jewish  lives. 

25.  And  through  his  policy  also  he  shall  cause  craft  to 
prosper  in  his  hand ;  and  he  shall  magnify  himself  in  his 
heart,  and  by  peace  shall  destroy  many:  he  shall  also  stand 
up  against  the  Prince  of  princes ;  but  he  shall  be  broken 
without  hand. 

The  sense  of  the  first  clause  is,  that  by  means  of  cunning,  keen- 
eyed  sagacity,  he  will  make  deception  work  successfully  toward  his 
ends.  The  points  made  in  the  entire  verse  are — successful  cun- 
ning and  deceit,  unbounded  pride  and  self-esteem ;  destroying  many 
suddenly,  in  the  midst  of  apparent  tranquillity;  daring  to  array 
himself   against  the   Almighty;    and  his   utter  fall   before   some 

superhuman  hand. This  king's  sharp-minded  sagacity  has  been 

noticed  before;  "understanding  dark  sentences."  This  feature  of 
his  character,  and  his  abundant  and  successful  use  of  it  stand  out 
with  great  prominence  in  chap.  11  :  21-32.  "He  comes  in  peace- 
ably and  obtains  the  kingdom  by  flatteries;"  "works  deceitfully;" 
"enters  peaceably"  (not  by  force  of  arms)  "upon  the  fiittest  places 
of  the  provinces;"  "forecasts  devices  and  corrupts  the  wicked  Jews 
by  flatteries,"  etc.— ^ — History  shows  that  he  obtained  the  kingdom 
by  precisely  such  means,  and  also  that  he  plied  these  arts  in  their 
full  strength  upon  the  Jews,  drawing  many  of  them  into  apostasy 
from  their  religion  and  from  their  country's  cause,  into  cooperation 
with  himself  "He  shall  have  intelligence  with  them  that  for- 
sake  the  holy  covenant." His  supreme  pride  and  self-esteem 

appear  also  in  chap.  11.  "The  king  shall  do  according  to  his 
will;"  "he  shall  exalt  himself  and  magnify  himself  above  every 
god;"  "regarding  neither  the  god  of  his  fathers,  nor  the  desire  of 
women,  nor  any  god,  he  shall  magnify  himself  above  all."     History 


PANIEL.— CHAP.  VIII.  387 

gives  him  the  same  character. That  he  dared  to  fight  against 

the  God  of  the  Jews,  even  while  he  had  sufficient  means  of  know- 
ing that  He  was  the  true  and  Almighty  God,  has  been  noted  on  v. 
11,  and  stands  out  prominently  in  his  history  as  given  in  the  hooks 
of  ]\]iiccabees.  It  was  perhaps  specially  manifest  (as  usual)  in 
that  hour  which  most  tries  men's  souls — the  hour  of  impending 
death.  The  author  of  second  Maccabees,  chap.  9,  says;  "Here, 
therefore,  being  plagued,  he  began  to  leave  off  his  great  pride  and 
to  come  to  the  knowledge  of  himself  by  the  scourge  of  God,  his 
pain  increasing  every  moment.  And  when  he  could  not  abide  his 
own  smell,  he  said;  "It  is  meet  to  be  subject  unto  God,  and  that  a 
man  that  is  mortal  should  not  proudly  think  of  himself  as  if  he 
were  God."  Also  in  his  distress  and  remorse,  he  vowed  that  if  God 
would  spare  him,  he  "would  become  a  Jew  himself  and  go  through 
all  the  world  declaring  the  power  of  God."  This  shows  that  he 
had  arrayed  himself  against  Jehovah  God  with  his  eyes  open,  stand- 
ing up  intelligently  against  the  Prince  of  princes.  No  wonder 
therefore  that  he  Avas  suddenly  "broken  without  hand,"  or  as  in  11 : 
45,  that  "he  came  to  his  end  with  none  to  help  him;"  or  yet  as  in 
7 :  26,  that  "  the  judgment  did  sit  and  they -took  away  his  dominion 
to  consume  and  destroy  it  to  the  end."  For  the  circumstances  of 
his  sudden  and  horrible  death,  see  notes  on  7 :  26.  Thus  closes 
this  brief  but  somewhat  specific  and  minute  description  of  the  little 
horn-king. 

26.  And  the  vision  of  the  evening  and  tlie  morning  which 
was  told  is  true :  Avherefore  shut  thou  up  the  vision ;  for  it 
shall  he  for  many  days. 

27.  And  I  Daniel  fainted,  and  wa,s  sick  certain  days ; 
afterward  I  rose  up,  and  did  the  king's  business ;  and  I  was 
astonished  at  the  vision,  but  none  understood  it. 

This  vision  is  spoken  of  as  "  the  vision  of  the  evening  and  the 
morning,"  with  reference  to  the  use  of  this  phrase  in  the  Hebrew 
of  V.  14 — "twenty-three  hundred  evening  morning."  There  can  be 
no  doubt  that  "the  vision  of  the  evening  and  the  morning"  in  this 
V.  26,  is  the  vision  of  this  eighth  chapter,  especially  that  part  of  it 
in  which  this  phrase  occurs,"  and  which  shows  how  long  the  little 
horn  shall  tread  down  "the  sanctuary  "and  the  sacramental  "host." 

The  direction  "to  shut  up  this  vision"  indicates  that  its  time 

of  ]nore  special  interest  and  value  to  its  readers  was  yet  somewhat 
remote.  When  this  day  of  trial  should  come,  those  heroic  men 
and  women  who  fell  martyrs  to  the  faith  of  their  fathers,  or  who 
fought  with  lion-hearted  courage  and  prowess  against  fearful  odds, 
would  read  these  visions  and  dwell  on  these  predictions  of  the  fall 
of  their  great  foe  with  surpassing  interest.  The  passage  implies 
that  relaiivebi  less  interest  would  be  felt  in  the  vision  at  that  time 

and  for  some  time  to   come. The  Hebrew  word  rendered   "  I 

fainted,"  is  the  pa!5sive  form  of  the  verb  to  he — a  usage  of  a  very 
peculiar  sort,  somewhat  idiomatic,  as  "I  was  done  for;"  "was  gono 


388  DANIEL.— CHAP.  VIII. 

up;"  "it  was  all  over  -with  me."  The  scene  affected  him  so  pow- 
erfully as  to  disqualify  him  temporarily  for  any  service.  That  he 
afterward  "  rose  up  and  did  the  king's  business,"  seems  to  imply 
that  he  was  there  as  an  embassador  for  the  king  of  Babylon.  This 
accounts  for  his  being  at  Shushan  when  he  had  the  vision. — ^Thc 
last  clause  may  mean,  "There  was  none  to  make  me  understaml 
it" — this  form  of  the  verb  (hiphil)  being  very  often  causative.  The 
statement  would  seem  to  imply  that  his  mind  was  still  "  inquiring 
and  searching  diligently  what  or  what  manner  of  time  the  reveal- 
ing Spirit  did  signify."  He  greatly  desired  to  know  these  mat- 
ters yet  more  particularly  than  the  Lord  had  yet  revealed  them. 
"In  the  third  year  of  Cyrus"  this  great  desire  was  gratified.  The 
vision  recorded,  chap.  10-12,  was  amply  specific  to  these  very  points. 
In  concluding  this  chapter,  I  must  sunT  up  in  few  words  my 
reasons  for  finding  the  little  horn  and  the  king  of  fierce  counte- 
nance in  Antiochus  Epiphanes. The  reader  will  have  noticed 

that  neither  Alexander,  the  "great  horn,"  nor  Antiochus,  the 
"little  horn,"  is  called  by  name.  Only  Media,  Persia,  and  Grecia 
are  given  by  name.  And  yet  these  horns  are  described  so  precisely 
that,  with  the  history  of  those  times  before  us,  we  can  identify  each 
one  as  surely  as  if  he  had  been  actually  called  l)y  name.  Thus  the 
"great  horn,"  the  first  king  of  the  Asiatic  Grecian  empire,  can  not 
possibly  be  any  other  than  Alexander.      The  historical  evidence  is 

perfect.     He,  and  nobody  else  but  he,  was  the  first  king. There 

is  the  same  sort  of  evidence;  and  an  amount  of  it  no  less  decisive, 
to  prove  that  the  little  horn  is  Antiochus  Epiphanes.  The  descrip- 
tion embraces  many  more  points.  Every  one  of  these  points,  per- 
taining to  his  historical  place  in  the  four  kingdoms,  his  date,  the 
direction  of  his  military  exploits  and  successes — in  short,  the  things 
he  did,  the  spirit  and  character  of  the  man,  and  his  final  destiny — 
every  one  of  these  minute  points  fit  him  perfectly,  fit  him  in  their 

obvious,  legitimate,  and  well-established  significance. Even  this 

is  not  all.  Of  itself  alone,  this  might  not  be  absolutely  decisive, 
for  it  might  still  be  said.  Many  of  these  points  fit  some  other  per- 
sonage too ;  possibly  some  of  them  may  fit  another  as  well  as  they 
fit  Antiochus  Epiphanes.  It  is  supposable  (not  at  all  probable) 
that  a  score  of  definite  particulars  of  this  sort  might  fit  each  of  two 
or  more  kings.  Hence  we  need  yet  another  fact  to  make  the 
evidence  absolutely  decisive.  We  need  to  find  points  that  fit  An- 
tiochus, and  Jit  no  other  mem; — points  that  never  have  been  fulfilled 
in  any  other  and  never  can  be.  Then  the  proof  will  be  complete. 
Now,  we  have  precisely  this  evidence.  Here  are  some  special 
points  that  never  have  been  met  in  any  other  man,  and  i\ever  can 
be.  Go  through  all  Jewish  history  from  INIoses  to  Christ,  i.  e.,  from 
the  establishment  of  their  religious  ritual  to  its  final  abolishment, 
and  ask  wliat  persecuting  heathen  king  caused  the  daily  sacrifices 
to  be  temporarily  suspended.  There  is  but  one  possible  answer; 
Antiochus  Epiphanes.  -^ Traverse  the  same  history  from  beginning 
to  end,  and  ask  for  the  celebrated  event  of  "  cleansing  the  sanctu- 
ary "  after  a  brief  desecration — an  event  which  never  happened  but 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  VIII.  389 

once — the  memory  of  which  was  celebrated  quite  down  to  the 
times  of  our  Lord's  personal  ministry  among  the  Jews  as  "the 
feast  of  dedication "  Avhen  "it  was  Avinter"  {i.  e.,  Dec.  25;  see  John 
10:  23).  Then  ask,  Who  had  been  pollutin<!;  the  sanctuary?  There 
is  but  one  possible  answer;  Antiochus  Epiphanes.  These  great 
fticts  of  Jewish  history  put  their  finger  on  this  heathen  king  with 
unmistakable  precision.  It  is  simply  impossible  that  any  other 
king  can  fill  these  points  of  this  description.  It  is,  therefore,  im- 
possible that  this  little  horn  can  be  any  one  else  than  Antiochus 
Epiphanes.  Coupling,  then,  these  two  great  lines  of  argument — 
(1.)  That  a  great  number  of  very  minute  and  specific  points,  half 
a  score  or  more,  pertaining  to  this  little  horn-king,  meet  in  him 
when  legitimately  interpreted — meet  naturally,  easily,  and  precisely : 
and  (2.)  That  at  least  these  two  or  more,  last  mentioned,  can  not 
'possibly  apply  to  any  other  personage^  we  have  ample  demonstration. 
Candid  minds  will  be  satisfied  with  it. 

The  general  parallelism  of  Daniels  four  great  visions  has  been 
more  than  once  alluded  to.  The  present  is  a  favorable  point  for 
renewed  attention  to  the  evidence  of  this  fact. 1  forbear  to  no- 
tice yet  the  last  vision,  that  of  chap.  10-12,  because  it  has  not  yet 
come  under  our  special  consideration.  I  also  omit  the  vision  in  chap. 
2:  31-45,  partly  because,  being  undeniably  parallel  with  chap.  7, 
there  is  no  need  of  giving  special  attention  to  it  in  our  present  in- 
quiry;  and  partly  because  it  gives  us  no  details  respecting  the  great 
personage  who  becomes  more  and  more  prominent  as  the  visions 
advance — the  little  horn-king.     Hence   we  have   now  to  consider 

only  the  parallelism  of  the  vision  chap.  7  with  this  of  chap.  8. 

Note,  then,  that  chap.  8  omits  Chaldea,  for  its  course  is  already  run; 

its  end  is  near;  there  is  nothing  more  to  say  of  it. Chap.  2: 

31-45,  began  Avitli  the  reigning  dynasty,  in  its  glory,  as  it  then  was; 
chap.  7,  with  the  same  reigning  dynasty,  already  waning  to  its  fall ; 
chap.  8,  with  the  dynasty  just  about  to  appear,  prol)ably  within  a 
twelve-month. In  chap.  7  the  Seer  is  present  bodily  in  the  king- 
dom which  is  the  starting  point  in  the  series.  In  chap.  8  the  same 
is  true;  he  is  bodily  in  Persia  (at  the  capital),  witli  which  kingdom 

his  visions    begin. In  chap.   7  he  gives  us  the  Medo-Persian 

kingdom,  and  next  the  Grecian  kingdom  of  Alexander.  In  chap. 
8  the  same,  only  making  yet  more  prominent  the  manner  in  which 
the  latter  smote  and  overpowered  the  former,  and  then  succeeded 

to  his  dominion. In   chap.  7  the  power  next  in  order  is  the 

fourth  beast  and  his  horns ;  yet  remarkably  nothing  is  said  of  the 
doings  of  the  ten  horns,  and  nothing  distinctively  of  the  terrible 
fourth  beast  except  as  he  appears  in  the  little  horn.  The  fearful- 
ncss  of  this  fourth  beast ;  his  sins  that  call  for  the  judgments  of 
(xod ;  and  the  visitation  of  those  judgments — all  seem  to  belong  to 
him  as  represented  in  the  little  horn.     So  much  is  obviously  apparent 

in  chap.  7. Correspondingly,  in  chap.  8,  the  fourth  beast  scarcely 

appears  at  all  in  his  distinctive  character.  The  four  kingdoms  that 
spring  up  on  the  breaking  down  of  Alexander's  are  apparently  in- 
troduced only  to  fill  up  the  historic  links,  and  give  us  more  defi- 


390  DANIEL.— CHAP.  VIII. 

nitely  the  historical  place  and  relations  of  the  little  horn.  This 
done,  wo  come  at  once  to  the  great  central  personage — the  little 
horn;  to  his  deeds,  his  spirit,  and  his  doom.  Hence,  we  have  now 
simply  to  comyiare  the  little  horn  of  chap.  7  with  the  little  horn  of 
chap.  8.  If  these  are  identical,  the  two  visions  are  essentially  par- 
allel.  Each  bears  the  same  distinctive  name,  "  the  little  horn." 

Whatever  this  name  may  mean,  it  is  safe  to  assume  that  it  means 
the  same  in  each  vision.  Such  similarity  of  character  and  same- 
ness of  name  go  far  to  prove  identity. Each  is  declared  by  the 

angel-interpreter  to  be  a  "king" — another  point  toward  identity. 
— ^— Chap.  7  makes  him  sagacious,  far-seeing,  for  this  must  be  the 
sense  of  eyes  in  a  horn.  Chap.  8  defines  him  to  be  a  king  "un-- 
derstanding  dark  sentences,"  and  "by  his  policymaking  craft  to 
prosper  in  his  hand." Chap,  7  gives  this  horn  "  a  mouth  speak- 
ing great  things"  (v.  8);  "very  great  things"  (v.  20);  and  "great 
words  against  the  Most  High  "  (v.  25).  Correspondingly,  chap.  8 
represents  him  as  elated  with  pride  and  self-esteem,  and  as  con- 
fronting himself  with  horrible  impiety  against  the  true  God  and  his 
people.  "He  magnifies  himself  in  his  heart;"  "he  casts  down  the 
truth  to  the  ground;"  "he  stands  up  against  the  Prince  of  princes." 
Chap.  7  makes  a  definite  and  prominent  point  of  his  persecu- 
tion of  the  saints;  "wearing  them  out."  Chap.  8  makes  the  same 
point  not  less  definitely  and  prominently.  "  He  casts  down  some 
of  the  host  and  of  the  stars  to  the  ground  and  stamps  upon  them;" 
the  "  ho-it  is  given  up"  to  his  power;  he  "destroys  the  mighty  and 
the  holy  people;"  and  in  the  midst  of  apparent  "peace,  destroys 

many." In  chap.  7  the  holy  people  whom  he  "wears  out"  are 

Jews,  for  it  is  their  "times  and  laws"  that  he  "thinks  to  change." 
In  chap.  8  the  same  is  true ;  it  is  their  ovv'n  sanctuary  that  he  casts 

down;"  their  "daily  sacrifice  that  he  takes  away." In  chap.  7 

it  is  declared  that  the  Jewish  institutions  of  worship  shall  be  given 
into  his  hand  for  a  season,  so  that  he  will  do  his  own  will  as  to 
them;  i.  c,  change  them  for  heathen,  institutions  and  worship. 
Chap.  8  says  the  same.  Not  the  "host"  only,  but  the  daily  sacri- 
fice is  given  up  to  his  power  (v.  12);  "the  sanctuary  and  the  host 

are  given  him  to  be  trodden  under  his  feet"  (v.  13). In  chap.  7 

the  duration  of  this  dominant  control  over  Jewish  institutions  and 
worship  is  set  at  three  and  a  half  years.  In  chap.  8  the  period 
defined  includes  more  than  simply  the  time  of  his  suspending  the 
daily  sacrifice.  It  embraces  also  the  giving  of  the  host,  the  Lord's 
people,  to  be  trodden  under  foot^  and  therefore  is  extended  to  six 
and  one-third  years.  But  the  two  periods  are  in  no  sense  conflict- 
ing. They  are  indeed  essentially  parallel,  and  apply  to  the  same 
series  of  historic  facts  respecting  Antiochus  Epiphanes.  I  do  not 
claim  that  one  of  these  visions  is  an  exact  copy  of  the  other.  Gen- 
eral parallelism  does  not  require  this.  The  two  visions  are  truly 
independent;  but  the  same  great  historic  personage  is  the  central 
figure  in  each.  We  proceed. in  chap.  7  it  is  manifestly  im- 
plied throughout  that  he  impiously  sets  himself  against  Almighty 
God.     Nut  less  so  in  chap.  8,  "  lie  magnifies  himself  against  the 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  VIII.  391 

Prince  of  the  host;"  ''he  stands  up  against  the  Prince  of  princes." 

Finally,  in  chap.  7,  special  judgments  from  the  Almighty  cut 

him  down  and  put  an  end  to  his  power  against  the  saints.    In  chap. 

8  he  "is  broken  without"  (human)  "hand." So  much  for  the 

points  of  close  and  unquestionable  analogy.  They  embrace  almost 
every  special  point  made  in  chap.  7 — every  one  indeed  of  ,any 
prominence  except  this,  that  the  little  horn-king  there  "  subdues 
three  of  the"  former  "kings"  (v.  24),  and  they  "fall  before  him" 

(v.  20). On  the  other  hand,  chap.  8  makes  some  new  points,  as 

might  be  expected  from  its  more  full  descriptions.  It  gives  (v.  9) 
the  direction  of  his  conquests,  viz.,  toward  Egypt,  Persia,  and  Pal- 
estine. It  intimates  that  he  is  made  God's  instrument  for  disci- 
pline and  judgment  on  apostate  Jews;  "When  the  transgressors 
are  come  to  the  full"  (v.  23);  "In  the  last  end  of  the  indigna- 
tion" (v.  19).  It  gives  very  definitely  the  historical  point  of  "the 
cleansing  of  the  sanctuary  " — one  of  the  great  facts  of  Jewish  his- 
tory, celebrated  during  several  centuries  by  an  annual  "feast  of 
dedication,"  "  in  the  winter."  See  John  10:  22.  But  these  addi- 
tional points  by  no  means  impair  the  evidence  of  real  parallelism, 
or  of  the  actual  identity  of  this  little  horn  with  that  This  evi- 
dence seems  to  me  to  be  conclusive.  How  can  it  be  doubted  that 
the  little  horn  of  chap.  7  is  also  the  little  horn  of  chap.  8 — the 
.same  personage,  standing  in  the  same  political  relations  to  heathen 
powers ;  in  the  same  relations  also  to  the  Jews ;  breathing  the  same 
spirit ;  doing  the  same  things ;  coming  to  the  same  end '} 

A  few  words  are  due  here  respecting  the  theory  of  interpreting 

this  chapter,  which  makes  the   little  horn  Papal  Rome. This 

little  horn  of  chap.  8  can  not  be  Papal  Kome,  1.  Because  he  is 

Antiochus  Epiphanes,  as  has  been  shown. 2.  Because  this  horn 

is  a  king,   and  therefore  is  yiot  a  church;  is  not  a  great  religious 

organization;    is  not  even  a  kingdom. Let  it  be  remembered 

that  this  is  put  epsecially  on  the  ground  of  God's  own  interpre- 
tation. The  current  strain  of  the  vision  proper  (vs.  9-14)  most 
fully  implies  that  this  horn  is  a  king;  but  the  interpretation  (vs. 
23-^25)  affirms  it,  and  so  describes  him  throughout.  This  authority 
ought  to  be  respected.  Of  course  it  will  be  by  those  who  admit 
that  he  who  presents  thought  to  others,  whether  by  symbols  or 
in  ordinary  speech,  is  the  best  interpreter  of  his  own  thought;  and 
that  this  universal  law  is  preeminently  appUcable  to  the  Omniscient 
God.     He  surely  ought  to  know  what  he  himself  means,  and  ought 

to  be  trusted  to  give  his  own  meaning  fairly. Consequently  this 

argument  settles  the  question.  More  is  really  gratuitous — useful 
mainly  to  show  how  many  things  seem  to  have  been  overlooked,  or, 
at  least,  unaccountably  disposed  of,  that  should  have  compelled 
every  student  of  these  prophecies  to  reject  the  theory  that  makes 

the  little  horn  Papal  Pome. 3.  This  king  rises  in  one  of  the 

four  kingdoms  into  which  Alexander's  empire  was  cleft.  Papal 
Rome  did  not.  In  fact,  Papal  Rome  could  not,  for  the  reason 
that  every  one  of  these  four  kingdoms  had  ceased  some  time  before 
the  Christian  era;  i.  a,  some  seven  hundred  years  before  any  his- 


392  DANIEL.— CHAP.  IX. 

torian  dates  the  rise  of  Pajml  Rome. 4.  He  pushes  his  conquests 

"toward  the  south,"  Egypt;  "toward  the  cast,"  Persia;  and  "to- 
ward tlie  pleasant  land,"  Palestine.  But  Papal  Konie  had  on  the 
south  the  Mediterranean  Sea;  made  no  footing  in  Egypt  or  Africa; 
had  to  give  up  the  great  East  to  the  Greek  Church;  never  made 
any  show  in  "the  pleasant  land" — all  her  crusades  through  two 
fearful  centuries  of  blood  and  toil  becoming  a  magnificent  failure. 
Yet  she  did  push  her  conquests  in  precisely  every  other  direction — 

thus  reversing  this  description  of  the  little  horn. 5.  This  horn 

persecuted  the  Jews  while  yet  Judaism  w^as  in  force  and  the  Jews 
were  the  only  known  people  of  God.  This  Papal  Pome  did  not 
do  and  could  not,  for  the  reason  that  they  had  ceased  to  be  the 
recognized   "saints"  of  God,  and  Judaism  had  "waxed  old   and 

vanished  away"   long  before  Papal  Pome  was  born. 6.  This 

horn  takes  away  the  daily  sacrifice — which  Papal  Rome  never  did, 
for  God  had  taken  it -away  forever,  at  least  six  hundred  years  be- 
fore Papal  Rome  came  into  being. 7.  After  a  definite  period  of 

these  persecutions  and  desecrations  by  the  little  horn,  his  power  is 
broken  and  "  the  sanctuary  is  cleansed" — in  all  which  Papal  Rome 
was  not,  for  the  same  very  sufficient  reason  as  above;  she  was  not 

yet  in  existence. 8.  Finally,  there  is  not  one  solitary  point  in  this 

description  wdiich  applies  to  Papal  Rome  so  specifically  as  to  define 
her  and  distinguish  her  from  any  other  persecuting  power.  Noth- 
ing in  this  chapter  applies  to  Papal  Rome  except  those  very  general 
features  which  must  pertain  to  any  persecutor  of  the  church.  The 
Papal-Rome  theory,  therefore,  violates  all  just  principles  of  inter- 
preting prophecy.  Especially  it  goes  in  the  very  face  of  God's 
own  interpretation  of  this  little  horn  as  a  king.  Hence  it  can  not 
possihb/  be   true.      It  has   absolutely  nothing  in  its  support  and 

every  tiling  against  it. From  this  position  1  infer  that  the  little 

horn  of  chap.  7  can  not  be  Papal  Rome,  for  that  horn  and  this  are 

identical.     As  this  can  not  be  Papal  Rome,  neither  can  that. 

This  entire  course  of  reasoning  applies  in  every  particular  with  equal 
force  against  the  theory  that  this  little  horn  of  chap.  8  is  the  jSIo- 
hammedan  power.  There  is  not  the  first  shade  of  an  argument  in 
its  support.     It  would  not  pay  to  go  over  the  ground  to  refute  it. 


CHAPTER   IX. 


This  chapter  has  a  subject  of  its  own,  complete  in  itself,  and 
not  connected  with  the  two  that  precede,  or  the  three  that  follow. 
Its  place  here  in  the  order  of  the  chapters  of  this  book  is  doter- 
miiuMl  ))y  its  date.  It  is  here  because  it  was  written  after  the 
eighth  (proba]}ly  not  more  than  one  j'ear  after),   and  four  years 

before  chapters  10-12. Its  occasion  is  given  definitely.     Daniel 

liad  learned  l^y  reading  the  prophetries  of  Jeremiah  that  the  cap- 
tivity was  limited  to  seventy  years  (Jer.  25 :  II,  12).     This  period 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  IX.  393 

was  now  near  its  close.  It  was  this  circumstance  that  moved  him 
to  seek  the  face  of  the  Lord  with  such  earnest  prayer  that  ho 
Avould  most  fully  and  freely  forgive  the  sins  of  his  people ;  rightly 
judging  that  as  the  captivity  was  sent  upon  the  people  in  judgment 
for  their  sins,  it  could  cease  only  upon  condition  of  the  most  humljle 
confession  and  repentance  on  the  part  of  the  people  and  their  free 
forgiveness  on  the  part  of  God.  In  this. point  of  light,  the  whole 
chapter  yields  the  richest  moral  instruction,  and  legitimately  awak- 
ens the  deepest  interest.  It  is  indeed  an  admirable  model  of  inter- 
cessory prayer,  and  may  be  applied  equally  to  prayer  for  gviilty 

nations  or  for  guilty   individuals. The   manner   in  which  God 

was  pleased  to  answer  this  prayer  will  call  for  our  special  atten- 
tion, lie  does  not  answer  it  by  reaffirming  what  he  had  said  by 
Jeremiah,  fixing  the  duration  of  the  captivity  at  seventy  years ; 
does  not  give  any  additional  particulars  respecting  the  manner  of 
this  restoration  under  the  decree  of  Cyrus.  Indeed,  Daniel  does 
not  ask  to  be  infol-med  or  assured  on  these  or  kindred  points.  He 
seems  to  have  had  no  doubt  but  that  the  Lord  would  fulfill  his 
word,  nor  any  fear  lest  he  should  not  do  it  in  the  very  best  time 
and  way.  In  the  spirit  of  one  whose  heart  is  full  of  sympathy  with 
God  and  his  glory,  his  great  burden  is,  the  people's  sins.  Hence 
his  prayer  scarcely  touches  any  other  point  than  this  one — that  the 
Lord  in  his  great  mercy  would  forgive  the  people  and  wholly  put 

away  their  transgressions  for  his  name's  sake. With  this  point 

distinctly  in  mind,  the  reader  will  readily  see  the  entire  fitness  of  the 
answer  which  comes- by  the  hand  of  Gabriel  from  the  loving  heart  of 
God.  It  stands  in  the  last  four  verses,  and  constitutes  one  of  the  richest 
promises  ever  made  to  our  lost  world.  I  shall  endeavor  to  develop 
its  specific  import  fully  in  its  place.  Suffice  it  to  say  here  that  it 
is  essentially  the  promise  of  an  atoning  Messiah,  whose  violent 
death  should  provide  amply  for  the  free  and  full  pardon  of  sin,  and 
for  the  mission  of  the  Spirit  to  seal  these  blessings  to  "many."  It 
fixes  the  date  of  his  coming;  the  duration  of  his  public  labors  on 
earth;  the  time  of  his  death;  and  of  those  striking  efiusions  of  the 
Spirit  which  were  designed  to  open  and  illustrate  the  genius  of  the 

gospel  age. The  chapter  is  therefore  properly  in  two  parts; — 

(1.)  Daniel's  prayer  that  God  would  forgive  the  sins  of  his  people 
(vs.  1-19); — (2.)  The  sending  of  Gabriel  with  the  answer  and  the 
answer  itself  (vs.  20-27). 

1.  In  tlie  first  year  of  Darius  the  son  of  Ahasuerus,  of 
the  seed  of  the  Medes,  which  was  made  king  over  the  realm 
of  the  Chaldeans ; 

2.  In  the  first  year  of  his  reign  I  Daniel  understood  by- 
hooks  the  number  of  the  years,  whereof  the  word  of  the 
Lord  came  to  Jeremiah  the  prophet,  that  he  would  accom- 
plish seventy  years  in  the  desolations  of  Jerusalem. 

In  reference  to  this  Darius,  see  notes  on  Dan.  5 :  31. The 

Ahasuerus  named  here  is  not  the  same  who  bears  this  name  in  the 


394  DANIEL.— CHAP.  IX. 

book  of  Esther.  This  was  a  common  name  with  the  kings  of  Me- 
dia and  Persia,  as  Pharaoh  was  with  the  kings  of  Egypt.  It  is  sup- 
posed to  signify,  "  ^Ae  lion-king." Daniel  understood  "  i?/  books," 

in  tacit  antithesis  to  other  modes,  e.  g.,  dreams  and  visions,  by 
which  he  had  come  to  understand  many  things  otherwise  unknown 
to  mortals.  In  this  case  he  learned  from  the  sacred  books,  the 
written  prophecies  of  Jeremiah  which  had  been  already  incorpo- 
rated into  the  canon  of  the  Jewish  scriptures.  The  plural,  hooks, 
does  not  imply  that  Jeremiah  had  written  more  than  one  prophetic 
book,  but  docs  imply  that  this  one  was  already  embraced  with 
others  in  one  volume  which  was  fitly  spoken  of  therefore  in  the 
plural,  even  as  we  use  the  appellation,  "the  scriptures." "Ac- 
complish," is  to  fill  out.  The  captivity  was  to  continue  until  seventy 
years  were  past,  and  the  amount  was  in  this  sense  '"''filled  out"  in  the 
desolations  of  Jerusalem.  This  specific  prophecy  is  found  Jer.  25 : 
II,  12;  "And  this  whole  land  shall  be  a  desolation  and  an  aston- 
ishment ;  and  these  nations  shall  serve  the  king  o*f  Babylon  seventy 
years.  And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  when  seventy  years  are  accom- 
plished that  I  will  punish  the  king  of  Babylon,"  etc. The  pun- 
ishment thus  threatened  on  Babylon's  king  and  nation  had  already 
been  meted  out;  so  that  if  Daniel  had  needed  such  evidence  to 
assure  him  that  God  would  fulfill  his  words  of  promise,  it  was  here, 
at  hand.     The  work  had  already  begun.     But  there  is  no  hint  that 

Daniel's  faith  needed  this  support. This  is  a  suitable  place  for 

the  suggestion,  bearing  upon  the  whole  drift  of  this  chapter,  that 
Daniel  prayed  none  the  less  but  rather  the  more  because  he  was 
so  confident  that  the  purpose  of  God  was  fixed  to  restore  his  people 
from  their  captivity  and  to  redeem  the  nation.  He  did  not  sympa- 
thize with  those  who  abuse  the  idea  of  God's  agency  in  fixing  future 
events.  He  did  not  say,  "Since  this  thing  is  certain  to  be,  why 
should  I  trouble  myself  to  pray  about  it?"  Not  thus  did  he  seek 
to  evade  his  moral  responsibilities  under  the  wise  government  of  a 
God  who  foreknows  and  determines  all,  and  sometimes  reveals  the 
future  to  his  people.  How  much  he  reasoned  upon  this  matter  of 
fate  and  freedom,  or  better,  of  man's  duty  under  the  reign  of  a 
God  who  knows  and  determines  all  his  own  future  acts,  and  virtu- 
ally, all  the  actions  of  other  beings  throughout  his  universe — we 
are  not  told.  If  he  did  reason  upon  it,  he  might  fitly  have  said; 
God's  purposes  reach  the  means  and  the  antecedents  as  truly  as 
the  ends  and  results,  and  by  no  means  fix  the  latter,  whether  the 
former  occur  or  not.  If  he  assigns  some  agency  in  these  means 
and  antecedents  to  me  or  to  any  free  agent,  he  gives  us  herein 
duties  to  do,  and  we  neglect  them  at  our  peril.  I  must  sec  to  my 
duty!     God's  promise  to  do  is  a  summons  to  me  to  prepare  the  way 

for  that  doing. Perhaps  he  did  not  give  much  thought  to  the 

metaph3'sical  aspects  of  this  subject.  He  may  have  simply  said, 
Blessed  be  the  God  of  my  fathers  that  the  time  draws  nigh  for  re- 
deeming my  people  from  this  long  and  fearful  captivity.  He  sent 
this  s(;ourge  upon  our  nation  for  their  sins:  it  came  in  all  justice 
and  loving  kindness.     It  can  not  pass  away  save  upon  our  repent- 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  IX.  395 

ance  as  a  nation  before  God,  our  hearty  confession  of  our  sins,  and 
our  earnest  prayer  for  his  mercy.  My  heart  must  lead  the  people 
in  this  confession,  penitence  and  prayer.  Thus  in  the  exercise  of 
a  true  sympathy  with  the  God  he  loved  and  adored,  he  might  have 
approached  this  subject  on  its  practical  side  only;  and  vrith  this 
common  sense  view,  in  the  spirit  of  a  sincere  piety,  he  might  have 
set  himself  to  penitence,  confession  and  prayer,  without  one  thought 
of  any  complication  in  the  subject  growing  out  of  the  joint  action  of 
human  freedom  and  divine  purpose.     Is  not  his  course  in  this  thing, 

an  admirable — nay  more,  a  perfect  model  ? The  objection  made 

to  prayer,  as  above  referred  to,  "Why  should  I  trouble  myself  to 
pray  when  God  has  made  the  thing  certain  by  special  promise?" 
should  not  be  passed  over  without  yet  another  remark;  viz.,  that 
tiie  spirit  which  can  make  it  is  utterly  foreign  from  the  spirit  of 
true  prayer.  The  heart  in  living  sympathy  with  God  loves  to  pray, 
and  goes  forth  in  longings  for  the  privilege  and  the  opportunity; 
but  never  into  metaphysical  subtleties  for  an  excuse  from  praying. 
Has  God  promised  to  do  this  great  thing  for  his  kingdom?  Then 
let  me  commune  with  him  aliout  it;  let  me  thank  him  for  the 
promise;  let  me  humbly  ask  if  there  be  yet  any  thing  for  me  to  do 
to  hasten  the  result  or  to  prepare  the  way  for  it:  let  me  at  least 
have  fellowship  with  him  in  trust  and  love  and  gratitude  for  this 

great   promise. When  men    labor  to   excuse   themselves   from 

praying,  their  o\vn  hearts  are  the  witness  that  they  have  none  of 
the  spirit  of  true  prayer, 

3.  And  I  set  my  face  unto  the  Lord  God,  to  seek  by 
prayer  and  supplications,  with  fasting,  and  sackcloth,  and 
ashes : 

4.  And  I  prayed  unto  the  Lord  my  God,  and  made  my 
confession,  and  said,  O  Lord  the  great  and  dreadful  God, 
keeping  the  covenant  and  mercy  to  them  that  love  him, 
and  to  them  that  keep  his  commandments ; 

5.  We  have  sinned,  and  have  committed  iniquity,  and 
have  done  wickedly,  and  have  rebelled,  even  by  departing 
from  thy  precepts  and  from  thy  judgments  : 

6.  Neither  have  we  hearkened  unto  thy  servants  the 
prophets,  which  spake  in  thy  name  to  our  kings,  our 
princes,  and  our  fathers,  and  to  all  the  people  of  the  land. 

This  language  is  beautifully  expressive  of  true  prayer;  "I  set 
my  face  unto  the  Lord  God  to  seek,"  etc.  &!o  true  prayer  turns 
one's  thought  and  desire  to  the  Lord;  looks  to  him  for  blessings. 
Prayer  makes  direct  application  to  God,  bearing  its  petition  at  once 

to  him  and  laying  its  case  before  his  throne. In  harmony  with 

his  state  of  mind,  and  as  fitly  expressive  of  his  genuine  humility 
of  soul,  he  fasted,  put  on  sackcloth,  and  cast  ashes  on  his  head 
and  garments.  The  people  of  the  East  made  more  account  of  these 
external  manifestations  of  humility  and  grief  than  Europeans  an^ 


396  DANIEL.— CHAP.  IX. 

Americans  ore  wont  to  do.  The  vital  thing  is  that  the  heart  be 
humble  and  contrite.  These  manifestations  were  not  with  Daniel 
mere  forms,  but  rather  were  the  natural  and  truthful  expression  of 
his  feelings. lie  says,  "J  prayed  and  made  my  confession."  Per- 
sonally, Daniel  had  not  worshiped  idols,  had  not  cast  off  the  fear 
of  (jiod,  had  not  involved  himself  in  those  great  sins  for  which  these 
judgments  were  sent  on  the  Jewish  city  and  nation,  and  yet  he 
does  not  stand  upon  his  exemption  from  these  gross  sins,  and  say, 
"1  thank  (iod  that  I  am  not  as  other  men  are."  But  we  can  not 
suppose  Daniel  incapable  of  discriminating  between  such  a  life  {e. 
g.)  as  that  of  Manasseh  and  his  own.  lie  could  not  confess  him- 
self guilty  of  the  same  sins  that  Manasseh  had  committed,  and  in 
the  same  degree,  for  the  good  reason  that  to  do  so  would  not  be 
according  to  truth.  Yet  how  far  Daniel  was  conscious  of  heart- 
sins  before  God,  lying  in  this  direction,  none  of  us  can  say,  nor  how 
much  this  confession  was  due  to  his  intensely  strong  sympathy  with 
liis  people,  of  such  sort  as  seems  to  create  a  positive  identity  of  con- 
duct and  culpability  as  well  as  of  suffering  and  punishment.  How- 
ever this  may  be,  this  case  of  Daniel  suggests  that  there  is  little 
danger  that  the  holiest  of  men  will  confess  too  much  in  reference 

to   their  own  personal   sins. While   on   the  one   hand   Daniel 

thought  of  God  as  great  and  greatly  to  be  feared,  he  did  not  forget 
on  the  other  hand  that  he  evermore  ''  Kept  covenant  and  mercy  to 
them  that  love  him  and  keep  his  commandments."  This  sustained 
his  hope.  God  had  shown  great  mercy  in  condescending  ever  to 
enter  into  covenant  with  his  people.  His  past  mercy  is  good  for 
present  faith. The  reader  will  observe  that  Daniel  said,  ^'-  Keep- 
ing the  covenant."  The  Hebrew  has  it  also,  '■'the  mercy,"  with 
manifest  reference  to  the  special  covenant  and  the  special  mercy 
which  God  had  made  and  shown  to  his  Sebrew  people.  Upon  this 
great  fact,  Daniel's  faith  took  strong  hold  in  this  hour  of  his  need. 

In  v.  5  the  repetition  is  peculiarly  expressive.     As  one  whose 

soul  is  full  of  the  thouglit,  Daniel  groups  together  nearly  or  quite 
all  the  different  words  known  to  the  llcbrew  language  conveying 
iha  idea  of  sinning.  This  sin  was  greatly  aggravated  by  the  fact 
that  God  had  sent  his  prophets  to  rebuke  the  people  and  forewarn 
them  of  impending  judgments,  but  they  had  not  hearkened  to  his 
voice  in  these  warnings. 

7.  O  Lord,  righteousness  helongcth  unto  thee,  but  unto 
us  confusion  of  faces,  tis  at  this  day ;  to  the  men  of  Judah, 
and  to  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem,  and  unto  all  Israel, 
that  arc  near,  and  that  are  far  off,  through  all  the  countries 
whither  thou  hast  driven  them,  because  of  their  trespass 
that  they  have  trespassed  against  thee. 

8.  O  Lord,  to  us  belongeth  confusion  of  face,  to  our 
kings,  to  our  princes,  and  to  our  fathers,  because  we  have 
sinned  against  thee. 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  IX.  397 

9  To  the  Lord  our  God  belong  mercies  and  forgive- 
nesses, tlioiigli  we  have  rebelled  against  him ; 

10.  Neither  have  we  obeyed  the  voice  of  the  Lord  our 
God,  to  walk  in  his  laws,  Avhich  he  set  before  us  by  his 
servants  the  prophets. 

There  is  great  force  as  well  as  fitness  and  beauty  in  the  antithe- 
sis between  the  righteousness  and  the  mercies  that  belong  to  God, 
and  the  shame  and  the  sin  that  belong  to  his  people.  God  had 
been  all  right;  they,  all  wrong.  On  God's  side  had  been  ever 
abounding  mercies  and  forgivenesses;  on  their  side,  only  perpet- 
ual rebellion  and  most  ungrateful,  abusive  sinning.  Alas,  that 
human  life  should  almost  perpetually  bear  precisely  this  record  as 
toward  God! — that  the  millions  live  on  and  sin  on  just  so;  their 
course  toward  God,  perpetual  sinning;  his  bearing  toward  them, 
the  most  amazing  patience,  forbearance,  long-suffering,  forgiveness 
and  mercy,  that  seem  to  flow  from  a  vast  outgushing  fountain,  as 
if  they  could  not  cease  !  And  if  his  hand  has  sometimes  turned 
to  judgment,  we  must  still  say,  "Righteousness  belongeth  unto 
thee,  O  God,  forever!" 

11.  Yea,  all  Israel  have  transgressed  thy  law,  even  by 
departing,  that  they  might  not  obey  thy  voice ;  therefore 
the  curse  is  poured  upon  us,  and  the  oath  that  is  written 
in  the  law  of  Moses  the  servant  of  God,  because  we  have 
sinned  against  him. 

12.  And  he  hath  confirmed  his  words,  which  he  S2:)ake 
against  us,  and  against  our  judges  that  judged  us,  by  bring- 
ing upon  us  a  great  evil :  for  under  the  whole  heaven  hath 
not  been  done  as  hath  been  done  upon  Jerusalem. 

13.  As  it  is  written  in  the  law  of  Moses,  all  this  evil  is 
come  upon  us :  yet  made  we  not  our  prayer  before  the 
Lord  our  God,  that  we  might  turn  from  our  iniquities,  and 
understand  thy  truth. 

14.  Therefore  hath  tile  Lord  watched  upon  the  evil,  and 
brought  it  upon  us :  for  the  Lord  our  God  is  righteous  in 
all  his  works  which  he  doeth :  for  we  obeyed  not  his 
voice. 

The  central  thought  in  these  verses  is  that  God  has  been  right- 
eously visiting  upon  the  nation  the  very  judgments  he  had  threat- 
ened against  them  in  the  huv  of  Moses  for  precisely  these  sins, of 
which  they  had  been  so  greatly  guilty.  The  reader  will  find  these 
passages  in  their  impressive  fullness,  in  Lev.  26 :  14-46,  and  in 
Deut.  chapters  28-30.  It  is  there  declared  most  distinctly  that  for 
such  sins,  God  would  send  them  into  captivity  in  a  foreign  land, 
and  would  lay  their  city  and  homes  desohite.  Xow  Daniel  recog- 
nizes the  entire  fulfillment  of  those  fearful  thrcatcnin'irs.    The  Lord 


398  DANIEL.— CHAP.  IX. 

"had  watched  upon  the  evil  and  brought  it  upon  them"  as  one  who 
has  made  positive  thrcatenings,  and  for  the  honor  of  his  truth  as 
well  as  for  the  support  of  his  throne,  can  not  forget  them,  but  must 
see  to  their  timely  execution. Daniel  felt  it  to  be  a  sore  aggra- 
vation of  the  people's  sin  that  under  this  fearful  scourge  they  had 
not  promptly  turned  to  God  with  confession,  penitence  and  prayer, 
as  they  might  and  should  have  done,  nor  had  they  desisted  from 
their  ways  of  sin, 

15.  And  now,  O  Lord  our  God,  that  hast  brought  thy 
people  forth  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt  with  a  mighty  hand, 
and  hast  gotten  thee  renown,  as  at  this  day;  we  have 
sinned,  we  have  done  wickedly. 

16.  O  Lord,  according  to  all  tliy  righteousness,  I  be- 
seech thee,  let  thine  anger  and  thy  fury  be  turned  away 
from  thy  city  Jerusalem,  thy  holy  mountain :  because  for 
our  sins  and  for  the  iniquities  of  our  fathers,  Jerusalem 
and  thy  people  are  become  a  reproach  to  all  that  are  about 
us. 

17.  Now  therefore,  O  our  God,  hear  the  prayer  of  thy 
servant,  and  his  supplications,  and  cause  thy  face  to  shine 
upon  thy  sanctuary  that  is  desolate,  for  the  Lord's  sake. 

The  tone  in  these  verses  is  that  of  imploring  entreaty ;  importu- 
nate prayer  for  pardon,  resting  mainly  on  the  pleas  that  God  de- 
lights in  great  mercies;  that  he  has  shown  the  nation  such  mercies 
in  delivering  them  from  Egypt ;  and  that  the  honor  of  his  name  is 
implicated  before  the  nations  of  the  earth  since  they  are  his  cov- 
enant people,  now  for  a  long  time  in  the  bonds  of  captivity,  nation- 
ally eclipsed,  and  according  to  the  ideas  of  idolatrous  nations,  a 
standing  reproach  to  the  God  they  worship  as  being  unable  to 
redeem  and  save  them. 

18.  O  my  God,  incline  thine  car,  and  hear;  open  thine 
eyes,  iind  behold  our  desolations,  -and  the  city  which  is 
called  by  thy  name:  for  we  do  not  present  our  supplica- 
tions before  thee  for  our  righteousnesses,  but  for  thy  great 
mercies. 

19.  O  Lord,  hear;  O  Lord,  forgive;  O  Lord,  hearken 
and  do ;  defer  not,  for  thine  own  sake,  O  my  God :  for  thy 
city  and  thy  peoj)le  are  called  by  thy  name. 

^  llcautifully  he  puts  the  contrast — we  do  not  ask  'this  for  our 
righteousness,  but  for  thy  great  niercies.  IIow  true ! — true  in  their 
case ;  true  in  the  case  of  every  sinner  who  comes  before  God  for 

pardon  and  life ! The  great  points  of  his  prayer,  whether  of 

confession  or  of  plea,  being  now  fully  brought  out,  Daniel  pours 
forth  the  full  tides  of  liis  soul's  emotion  and  desire  in  most  earnest 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  IX.  390 

plcadlnfi;  with  God.  He  implores  him  to  listen,  to  open  his  eyes 
and  look  on  the  desolations  of  his  people  and  of  the  city  upon 
both  which  he  had  called  his  own  name.  He  begs  that  God  will 
not  defer  but  will  grant  him  an  answer  of  peace  and  mercy  now. 

Such  importunity  may   sometimes  startle  us  as  unbecoming, 

obtrusive  and  almost  irreverent — out  of  place  and  character  for  a 
frail,  sinful  mortal  before  his  Holy  Sovereign!  The  thing  to  be 
said  of  it  is  that  on  the  one  hand  it  should  never  be  assumed  for 
form's  sake;  nor  forced  by  working  up  one's  own  feelings  for  the 
mere  sake  of  reaching  such  a  fervor  and  form  of  prayer;  nor 
should  it  ever  be  prompted  by  objects  that  are  purely  our  own 
and  not  identified  with  the  honor  and  glory  of  God ; — ^]:)ut  on  the 
other  hand,  when  it  is  the  spontaneous  utterance  of  a  heart  in 
deep  sympathy  with  the  honor  and  cause  of  God ;  when  it  comes 
of  taking  firm  hold  of  his  great  love  and  of  his  unfailing  promises ; 
when  one  falls  into  it,  being  sweetly  and  mightily  drawn  by  the 
Spirit  of  God  himself,  then  nothing  can  be  more  pleasing  to  him. 
Ho  lets  us  come  very  near  to  him  to  "order  our  cause  before  him 
and  to  fill  our  mouth  with  arguments."  "The  Spirit  itself  maketh 
intercession  with  our  spirits."  God  never  fails  to  answer  such 
prayer. 

20.  And  while  I  was  speaking,  and  praying,  and  con- 
fessing my  sin,  and  the  sin  of  my  people  Israel,  and  pre- 
senting my  supplication  before  the  Lord  my  God  for  the 
holy  mountain  of  my  God  ; 

21.  Yea,  while  I  ivas  speaking  in  prayer,  even  the  man 
Gabriel,  whom  I  had  seen  in  the  vision  at  the  beginning, 
being  caused  to  fly  swiftly,  touched  me  about  the  time  of 
the  evening  oblation. 

22.  And  he  informed  me,  and  talked  with  me,  and  said, 
O  Daniel,  I  am  now  come  forth  to  give  tliee  skill  and  un- 
derstanding. 

23.  At  the  beginning  of  thy  supplications  the  command- 
ment came  forth,  and  I  am  come  to  shev/  thee;  for  thou  art 
greatly  beloved :  therefore  understand  the  matter,^  and  con- 
sider the  vision. 

"The  sin  of  mi/  people  Israel,"  indicates  how  exceedingly  inti- 
mate were  the  heart-relations  sustained  by  Daniel  toward  tlie  Jew- 
ish people. He  felt  toward  them  as  a  father  toward  his  children. 

He  bore  them  tenderly  in  his  heart,  as  Paul  did  his  Christian  con- 
verts; "Now  we  live,  if  ye  stand  fast  in  the  Lord"  (1  Thess.  3:  8). 
This  intense  devotion  to  his  own  people  goes  far  to  prove  that  his 
four  parallel  visions  have  respect  to  the  future  fortunes — the  strug- 
gles, oppressions,  persecutions  and  deliverances  of  this  same  people. 

They  put  this  point  beyond  rational  doubt. In  this  passage  we 

have  the  preliminary  steps  for  revealing  to  Daniel  God's  prophetic 
answer  to  his  prayer.     He  had  only  begun  to  pray  when  the  divine 


400  DANIEL.— CHAP.  IX. 

mandate  came  forth  commissioning  the  angel  CJaLriel — the  same 
whom  he  had  seen  in  the  last  preceding  vision  (chap.  8 :  IG),  to  go 
and  meet  him  at  the  hour  of  evening  w^orship.  This  was  doubtless 
the  season  of  this  prayer,  ahove  recorded — this  being  with  pious 
Jews  one  of  the  usual  seasons  of  daily  prayer.  ISee  Acts  3:1,  and 
10:  3,  30.  On  the  phrase  rendered,  "Being  caused  to  fly  swiftly," 
modern  lexicographers  raise  grave  doubts  whether  the  sense  be  not 
rather,  "being  wearied  with  a  great  weariness,"*'  as  one  from  a 
long  journey.  The  point  is  of  no  special  importance.  It  might 
seem  at  first  sight  to  lessen  our  sense  of  the  poAvers  of  an  angel  to 
conceive  of  him  as  weary  with  the  effort  of  transit  from  heaven  to 
earth;  but  really  why  should  this  be  more  improbable  than  that  he 
should yZy  at  all?  In  both  cases  we  have  figures  of  speech,  used  to 
give  us  the  conception  of  an  angefs  change  of  place.  Of  the  real- 
ity, what  can  we  know  beyond  the  mere  fact  of  such  change  ?  No 
doubt  the  clause  is  introduced  for  the  sake  of  showing  that  Gabriel 
came  from  a  far  distant  world  to  bring  to  Daniel  an  important  an- 
swer to  his  accepted  prayer.  It  is  very  idle  for  us  to  speculate  on 
the  manner  and  velocity  of  an  angel's  locomotion,  or  on  its  draft 
upon  his  strength. "For  thou  art  greatly  beloved;"  in  the  He- 
brew, "a  man  of  delights,"  i.  e.,  as  to  God.  It  is  a  most  affecting 
thought  that  mortals  may  by  grace  come  into  a  state  of  holiness  in 
heart  and  life,  in  which  God  can  feel  complacency  toward  them  and 
testify  to  his  great  love  for  them.  Who  would  not  aspire  toward 
such  holiness  and  such  favor  Avith  God,  as  infinitely  before  all 
things  else? "Therefore  noAV,  understand  the  matter  and  con- 
sider the  vision;"  give  attention  to  the  revelations  which  I  am  about 
to  make.  The  vision  referred  to  is,  beyond  a  doubt,  the  same 
which  the  angel  has  come  to  reveal,  standing  in  vs.  24-27. 

24.  Seventy  weeks  are  determined  up>on  thy  people  and 
upon  thy  holy  city,  to  finish  the  transgression,  and  to  make 
an  end  of  sins,  and  to  make  reconciliation  for  iniquity,  and 
to  bring  .in  everlasting  right£K)usness,  and  to  seal  up  the 
vision  and  prophecy,  and  to  anoint  the  Most  Holy. 

25.  Know  therefore  and  understand,  thai  from  the  going 
forth  of  the  commandment  to  restore  and  to  build  Jerusa- 
lem unto  the  Messiah  the  Prince,  8\iall  he  seven  weeks,  and 
threescore  and  two  weeks :  the  street  shall  be  built  again, 
and  the  wall,  even  in  troublous  times. 

20.  And  after  threescore  and  two  weeks  shall  Messiah  be 
cut  off,  but  not  for  himself:  and  the  people  of  the  prince 
that  shall  come  shall   destroy  the   city  and  the  sanctuary: 

■:■  The  question  is  one  of  etymology,  viz.,  whether  the  two  words 
ny'3  rjj^3  come  from,  v\^^l^  to  fly,  or  from  nyt  to  be  weary.    The  forms 

favor,  not  to  saj^  demaud,  the  latter. 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  IX.  401 

find  the  end  thereof  shall  he  with  a  flood,  find  unto  the  end 
of  the  war  desolations  are  determined. 

27.  And  he  shall  confirm  the  covenant  with  many  for 
one  week :  and  in  the  midst  of  the  week  he  shall  cause  the 
sacrifice  and  the  oblation  to  cease,  and  for  the  overspread- 
ing of  abominations  he  shall  make  it  desolate,  even  until 
the  consummation,  and  that  determined  shall  be  poured 
upon  the  desolate. 

This  passage  requires  and  will  reward  a  careful  and  thorough 
study.     I  propose  to  give  first  a  translation;    then  a  paraphrase; 

and  finally  such   special   comments  as  may  seem  necessary. 

"Seventy  sevens  [of  years]  are  determined  in  reference  to  thy  peo- 
ple and  thy  holy  city,  to  shut  up  sin,  to  seal  transgression,  to  cover 
iniquity,  to  bring  in  everlasting  righteousness,  to  seal  up  vision  and 

prophet,  and  to  anoint  the  holy  of  holies. Know  and  understand : 

From  the  going  forth  of  a  decree  for  restoring  and  rebuilding  Jeru- 
salem unto  Messiah  the  Prince  are  seven  sevens  [of  years]  and 
sixty-two  sevens  [of  years] ;  the  streets  shall  be  restored  and  built 

again ;  it  is  decided  and  shall  be,  though  in  distress  of  times. 

And  after  sixty-two  sevens  [of  yeaiis]  Messiah  shall  be  cut  off  and 
there  shall  be  nothing  more  to  him.  Then  the  people  of  a  prince 
that  shall  come  shall  destroy  the  city  and  the  sanctuary;  its  end 
shall  be  with  that  sweeping  flood ;  even  unto  the  end  of  the  war, 

desolations  are  determined. One  seven  [years]  shall  make  the 

covenant  efi'ective  to  many.  The  middle  of  the  seven  shall  make 
sacrifice  and  oSerings  cease :  then  down  upon  the  summit  of  the 
abomination  comes  the  desolator,  even  till  a  complete  destruction, 
determined,  shall  be  poured  upon  the  desolate." 

Next,  to  give  a  partial  explanation,  blended  with  the  translation, 
I  paraphrase  thus: "Seventy  sevens  of  years, equal  to  four  hun- 
dred and  ninety  years,  are  cut  off  from  the  course  of  future  time, 
for  thy  people  and  thy  holy  city,  at  the  end  of  which  provision  shall 
be  made  for  the  full  pardon  of  sin  and  for  putting  it  utterly  out  of 
my  sight,  as  a  thing  shut  up,  sealed  and  covered ;  and  to  bring  in 
a  system  of  everlasting  righteousness  whereby  pardoned  sinners 
may  both  be  accounted  and  may  become  righteous  before  me. 
This,  by  amply  fulfilling,  will  close  up  those  visions  of  the  prophets 
which  respect  the  Messiah  to  come.  Then  will  I  anoint  my  church, 
the  spiritual   temple  of  the  new  dispensation,  with  the  gracious 

unction  of  the  Holy  Ghost. This  in  general.     I  will  now  repeat 

and  give  more  particulars.  Know,  then,  and  consider,  that  from  the 
issuing  of  the  decree  of  Artaxcrxes  for  restoring  and  rebuilding 
Jerusalem  unto  the  public  ministry  of  Messiah,  the  Prince,  shall 
be  forty-nine  years  and  four  hundred  and  thirty-four  years;  i.  e., 
forty-nine  up  to  the  point  of  completing  the  rebuilding  of  the  city, 
and  four  hundred  and  thirty -four  fi'om  that  point  till  the  Messiah 
shall  appear  before  the  public,  to  commence  his  gospel  ministry. 
•This  city  shall  be  restored  and  rebuilt;  the  thing  is  settled  in  the 


402  DANIEL.— CHAP.  IX. 

counsels  of  the  Almiglitj,  and  shall  be  done,  although  in  times  of 

much  distress. After  the   four   hundred  and  thirty-four  years 

shall  have  expired,  the  Messiah  shall  be  cut  off  l)y  a  violent  death ; 
his  relationship  to  his  ancient  covenant  people  will  cease ;  they  will 
reject  him,  and  he  will  abandon  them  to  their  righteous  doom. 
Then  the  people  of  the  Koman  prince,  coming  from  afar,  shall  de- 
stroy the  city  and  the  sanctuary ;  its  end  shall  be  with  that  sweep- 
ing Hood  of  ruin ;  even  till  the  end  of  this  war,  there  is  a  divine 
decree  for  desolations.  During  one  heptad  of  years  the  covenant 
of  God's  mercy  shall  become  effective  to  many:  at  the  middle  point 
of  this  heptad,  he  will  make  sacrifice  and  offering  cease  by  becom- 
ing himself  the  one  great  atoning  sacrifice,  complete  thenceforth 
acgd  forever,  and  superseding  all  the  sacrifices  of  the  Mosaic  ritual. 
Then  dovrn  upon  the  summit  of  the  temple,  now  an  abomination 
before  God  for  the  apostasy  of  those  that  worship  therein,  comes 
the  desolator,  the  Koman  legions — even  until  a  complete,  terrible, 
and  predetermined  destruction  shall  have  been  poured  forth  upon 
the  desolate  city." 

Several  points  now  demand  a  more  particular  explanation. 

"  Seventy  iveeks."  This  English  phrase  suggests  only  the  ordinary 
week  of  seven  days,  making  the  Avhole  duration  four  hundred  and 
ninety  days.  Inasmuch  as  ther  fulfillment  seems  to  require  instead 
four  hundred  and  ninety  years,  it  has  been  often  assumed  that  this 
passage  at  least  must  be  admitted  to  be  a  case  of  a  prophetic  day 
used  for  a  year.  A  closer  examination  removes  this  case  from  the 
list  of  those  proofs,   explaining  the  phrase  in  another  and  much 

more  reliable  way. A  Hebrew  reader  coming  to  this  phrase,* 

would  say  at  once.  This  first  word  is  not  the  usual  form  for  weeks 
of  days.  The  word  means  a  seven ;  a  heptad ;  and  is  formed  from 
the  numeral  seven.  The  feminine  plural  is  the  form  which  is  con- 
stantly used  to  denote  weeks  of  days.  This  is  the  masculine  plu- 
ral, indicating  at  least  something  different  from  a  mere  week  of 
seven  days.  There  is  no  instance  in  the  Hebrew  Bible  where  this 
masculine  plural  form  is  used  alone  for  weeks  of  da^^s.  In  a  few 
cases,  Avhere  it  means  sevens  of  days,  the  word  for  days  follows  it 
to  make  the  sense  clear,  showing  that  of  itself  it  would  not  be 
taken  in  this  sense  of  seven  days.  See  these  cases,  Dan.  10 :  2,  3.  In 
Ezck.  45:  21,  the  feminine  plural  has  the  word  dai/s  after  it,  mean- 
ing the  feast  of  sevens  of  days,  i.  e.,  the  Passover,  which  was  held 
seven  days — a  case  which  shows  that  the  primary  sense  of  even 
the  feminine  plural  is  a  heptad,  and  not  properly  a  loeek.  The  use 
of  the  feminine  plural  in  the  sense  of  our  common  week  may  be 
seen  in  Ex.  34:  22;  Num.  28:  26;  Deut.  IG:  9,  10,  16;  2  Chron. 

8:  13;  Jcr.  5:  24. Further;  wheri  any  thoughtful  reader  should 

meet  the  word  sevens,  ho  would  naturally  ask,  Sevens  of  what?  Is 
tliis  sevens  o^  dai/s,  or  sevens  o^  years,  or  sevens  oi  centuries'?  He 
would  expect  to  find  the  clew  to  his  answer  in  the  context.  What 
has  the  writer  been  saying?  There  must  be  something  in  what 
he  has  said  to  give  a  definite  clew  to  his  meaning,  for  to  say  only 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  IX.  403 

"sevens"  is  to  leave  his  meanini:^  entirely  indefinite.  Pursuing 
this  train  of  inquiry,  he  would  see  in  the  present  case  a  manifest 
allusion  to  the  seventy  years  of  captivity  which  is  so  vividly  before 
DanieFs  mind.  It  can  not  he  overlooked  that  Daniel  is  praying 
with  the  great  thought  of  the  seventy  years'  captivity  before  his 
mind.  When  the  Lord  sends  his  answer  by  Gabriel,  he  too  under- 
stands that  the  seventy  years  of  captivity  are  present  to  Daniefs 
thought,  and  therefore  he  only  needs  to  say,  not  that  seventy  2/cars 
are  assigned  before  the  next  great  event,  but  seventy  sevens.  Dan- 
iel Avill  supply  ''''  years !^    The  talk  and  the  thought  are  about  years. 

Years,  therefore,  is  the  word  to  be  supplied  after  ^'-sevens'' On 

the  strength,  then,  of  these  two  considerations,  either  of  them  suffi- 
cient alone,  and  both  together  entirely  decisive,  I  account  this 
period   precisely   seventy  sevens   of  years.,   or  four    hundred   and 

ninety  years. The  same  usage  prevails  throughout  this  passage 

in  the  "  seven  weeks,"  the  "  sixty-two  weeks,"  and  the  "  one  week" 
The  word  heptad,  transferred  from  the  Greek  language,  pre- 
cisely translates  the  original  Hebrew.  Or  we  might  say  a  seven, 
meaning  a  period  of  seven  units,  leaving  the  particular  sense  of  the 

unit  to  be  learned  from  the  context. Hence  this  is  not  by  any 

means  a  case  of  a  day  for  a  year.  It  is  only  a  case  of  using  a 
Hebrew  word  meaning  a  seven,  a  heptad,  a  period  of  seven  units, 
selecting  a  form  that  does  not  suggest  units  of  days  but  units  of 

years. The  historic  fulfillment  of  all  these  periods  of  time  will 

be  considered  in  its  place. "Are  determined,"  etc.,  means  in 

the  original  precisely^  are  cut  of,  i.  e.,  from  all  future  time.  A 
limit  is  set  at  the  end  of  it,  inside  of  which  these  events  shall 

occur. This  cutting  oif  or  determining  has  reference  to  "thy 

people"  and  "thy  holy  city" — here  again  recognizing  the  very  in- 
timate relations  which  Daniel  sustained  to  the  Jews  as  their  patron 
and  father. What  shall  be  done  at  or  near  the  end  of  this  sev- 
enty, heptads  is  next  stated. The  first  two  verbs  in  this  series, 

rendered  in  the  received  version,  "to  finish  transgression,"  and  "to 
make  an  end  of  sins,"  present  in  the  marginal  Hebrew  a  slightly 
different  reading,  which  our  English  text  follows,  and  the  English 
margin  does  not.  I  adopt  the  reading  of  the  Hebrew  text  and 
the  English  margin;  to  "shut  up"  or  "restrain;"  and  to  "seal." 
Sins  are  thought  of  as  shut  up,  sealed,  covered — a  climax  of  fig- 
ures. Dr.  Hengstenberg  well  remarks ;  "  Sin,  which  hitherto  lay 
naked  <ind  open  before  the  eyes  of  a  righteous  God,  is  now  by  his 
mercy  shut  up,  sealed  and  covered,  so  that  it  can  no  more  be  re- 
garded as  existing — a  frequent  designation  of  the  forgivenness  of 
sin,  analogous  to  those  where  it  is  said  '  to  conceal  the  face  from 
sin  and  to  cause  it  to  pass  away,'  "  etc.  (Christology  2:  305).— ^ — 
The  last  of  these  three  verbs  is  the  Levitical  word  for  atonement — 
a  cover  for  sins  to  hide  them  from  view. This  gives  us  the  cen- 
tral thought  of  the  passage — one  which  stands  in  the  closest  con- 
nection with  Daniel's  prayer.  No  point  stands  out  so  prominently 
and  strongly  in  this  prayer  as  the  distress  and  solicitude  he  feels 
in  respect  to  the  great  sins  of  his  people.     The  agonizing  solicitude 


404  DANIEL.— CHAP.  IX. 

of  his  heart  centers  upon  this  one  question;  How  can  this  sin  be 
removed?  llow  can  the  Lord  pass  over  and  forgive  it  so  that  the 
people  can  again  come  under  his  mercy  and  favor?  It  was  there- 
fore to  meet  precisely  this  main  point  of  his  distress  and  anxiety 
that  the  Lord  replies;  After  seventy  heptads  of  years  1  Avill  bring 
forth  a  perfect  provision  to  atone  for  sin.  Then  it  will  be  seen 
liow  1  can  honorably  and  safely  forgive  the  penitent  sinner  and  re- 
store him  to  fovor. "To  bring  in  everlasting  righteousness,"  is 

only  another  form  of  stating  the  same  thing.  The  sinner  forgiven 
an(i  his  sins  all  covered  stands  right  before  God.  Christ  is  made 
of  (jlod  unto  him  righteousness  as  well  as  redemption.  On  the 
ground  of  what  Christ  is,  and  has  suffered  for  him,  he  is  accounted 

righteous  before  God. This  way  of  accounting  sinners  righteous 

is  ^'' everlasting^^  as  contrasted  with  the  transient  duration  of  the 
jNIosaic  system,  and  the  temporary  effects  of  those  frequent  sacri- 
fices required  under  that  system,  which  indeed  were  only  typical 
at  best,  and  "could  never  with  those  sacrifices  Avhich  they  offered, 
year  by  year,  make  the  comers  thereunto  perfect"  (Heb.  10:  1). 
This  new  system  is  to  stand  through  all  time,  and  its  blessed  effects 

will  be  enduring. "To  seal  up  vision  and  prophet,"  is  the  literal 

rendering  of  the  original,  and  obviously  refers  to  the  fulfillment,  and 
hence,  in  this  sense,  to  the  closing  up  of  those  prophecies  which  for 
many  ages  had  predicted  the  Messiah,  but  which,  having  now  done 
their  work  of  ministry  to  the  faith  of  God's  waiting  people,  may  be 
considered  as  sealed  up  and  laid  aside — superseded  by  the   Mesr 

siah's  actual  coming. "  To  anoint  the  most  holy."     The  Hebrew 

has  it,   "the  holy  of  holies." In  determining  the  sense  of  this 

phrase,  we  have  to  choose  between  three  possible  or  at  least  sup- 
posable  meanings: — {a.)  The  most  holy  place  in  the  temple. — {b.) 

The  Messiah  himself — {c.)  The  Christian  Church. The  first  is 

set  aside  by  the  fact  that  this  very  passage  (v.  26)  predicts  the  de- 
struction of  the  sanctuary. The  second  is  set  aside  by  the  fact 

that  the  Old  Testament  never  uses  this  phrase  for  the  Messiah ;  in- 
deed, never  for  persons,  but  always  for  things.  Also  by  the  further 
fact  that  if  applied  to  the  Messiah,  it  should  relate  to  his  baptism 
and  not  to  his  death,  and  the  exact  fulfillment  could  not  be  made 

out. {c).  The  third  meaning  suggested  above  has  in  its  favor 

both  Old  Testament  usage  and  New.  The  Old  Testament  presents 
the  work  of  the  Messiah  in  building  up  his  kingdom  under  the 
figure,  "lie  shall  build  the  temple  of  the  Lord"  (Zech.  G:  ];2,  13). 
The  same  figure  runs  through  Isa.  GO,  and  many  kindred  prophe- 
cies. They  make  the  great  facts  of  the  Mosaic  dispensation  the 
ground-work  of  their  portrayals  of  analogous  things  in  the  gospel 
age.  Hence  the  temple  of  the  Old  Testament  economy  becomes 
the  gospel  church  of  the  New.  This  becomes  the  current  usage  of 
the  New  Testament  writers.  "Ye  arc  the  temple  of  the  living 
God;  as  (Jod  hath  said,  "I  will  dwell  in  them  and  walk  in  them,'* 

etc.,  (2  Cor.  G:  IG). Hence  there  is  ample  authority  in  the  line  of 

usage  for  taking  the  phrase,  "  the  holy  of  holies,"  to  mean  in  our 
passage,  the  gospel  church. Anointing  is  a  common  symbol  of 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  IX.  405 

the  efiusions  of  the  Spirit.  Messianic  prophecy  has  it;  "  The  Spirit 
of  the  Lord  is  upon  me  because  he  hath  anointed  me  to  preach 
good  tidings,"  etc.  (Isa.  61:  I).  The  ISIessiah  himself  indorsed 
this  usage  and  accepted  its  application  to  himself  (Luke  4:  18-21). 
The  Apostles  use  this  figure  freely.  See  Ac.  4:  27,  and  10:  38 — 
IJn.  2 :  20,  27.  Hence  the  phrase,  "  to  anoint  the  most  holy,"  looks 
toward  those  signal  manifestations  of  the  Holy  Spirit's  power  which 
were  the  preeminent  glory  of  the  great  Pentecost,  and  which  shed 

their  luster  over  the  first  few  years  of  the  gospel  age. Let  it 

now  be  noted  that  v.  24  is  a  comprehensive  and  general  statement 
of  most  of  the  great  points  embraced  in  this  prophetic  answer  to 
Daniel's  prayer.  It  omits  the  desolation  brought  on  the  holy  city 
and  temple  by  the  Roman  arms  under  Titus,  and  this  only.  The 
other  points  are  mainly  comprehended  in  general  form  in  this  first 
verse  of  the  passage.  Then  in  the  remaining  verses  the  same  topics 
are  restated  with  more  specific  details,  especially  as  to  dates.  Let 
us  see. "Know,  therefore,  and  understand,"  urges  special  atten- 
tion to  this  more  minute  statement.  Practically,  these  verbs  must 
be  taken  as  imperatives,  though  in  form  the  Hebrew  has  them  Ijoth 
in  the  future.  The  use  of  the  future  for  the  imperative  is  not  un- 
common.— r-^Vhat  commandment  or  decree  is  this  for  restoring  and 

rebuilding  Jerusalem? The  reader  might  very  naturally  think 

first  of  the  nearer  one  by  Cyrus,  which  appears  in  Ezra  1 :  1-4  and 
2  Chron.  36:  22,  23,  rather  than  the  more  remote  one  by  Artax- 
erxes  referred  to,  Neh.  I.  Yet  the  latter  is  undoubtedly  the  one 
intended,  inasmuch  as  the  description,  which  is  rather  minute,  de- 
scribes this  and  does  not  describe  the  decree  by  Cyrus.  The  de- 
scription given  here  in  this  prophecy  is  that  of  a  decree  for  restoring 
and  rebuilding  Jerusalem — "the  city  and  its  streets,"  in  the  sense 
probably  of  the  buildings  upon  them.  Precisely  such  is  the  decree 
from  Artaxerxes  obtained  by  Nehemiah.  The  words  of  the  decree 
are  not  recorded  by  Nehemiah,  but  its  subject-matter  can  be  de- 
termined no  less  clearly  from  what  is  said  of  it  than  if  the  docu- 
ment itself  were  preserved.  Look  at  the  circumstances.  Nehe- 
miah hears  that  the  wall  of  Jerusalem  is  broken  doAvn  and  the 
gates  thereof  burnt  with  fire  (Neh.  1 :  3).  He  gives  himself  to 
fasting,  weeping,  and  mourning.  The  king  inquires  the  cause  of 
his  grief.  He  replies :  Why  should  not  my  countenance  be  sad 
when  the  city,  the  place  of  my  father's  sepulchers,  lieth  waste,  and 
the  gates  thereof  are  "consumed  with  fire?"  (Neh.  2:  3).  The 
king  says,  "What  is  thy  request?"  He  answers  promptly:  An 
order  from  the  king  that  I  be  "sent  to  the  city  of  my  father's  sep- 
ulchers that  1 77101/  build  it."  To  this  the  king  consented;  so  that 
there  can  be  no  doubt  as  to  the  substance  of  this  decree.  It  said 
nothing  about  building  the  temple ;  it  began  and  ended  with  re- 
building the  city.     The  temple-building  was  already  complete. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  decree  by  Cyrus  said  not  a  word  of  rebuild- 
ing the  city,  but  did  speak  expressly  and  only  of  "  building  an 
house  for  God  in  Jerusalem,"  i.  e.,  the  temple.  Hence  all  doubt  is 
removed  as  to  the  particular  decree  referred  to.     It  must  be  that 


406  DANIEL.— CHAP.  IX. 

sent  forth  by  Artaxerxes,  with  Nehemiah,  for  rebuilding  the  city. 
It  might  be  added  that  the  facts  in  the  line  of  historic  fulfill- 
ment go  entirely  against  the  decree  of  Cyrus.  For,  taking  this  de- 
cree of  Cyrus  for  our  starting  point,  our  four  hundred  and  ninety 
years  would  expire  before  the  Messiah  came — this  decree  being 
issued  about  B.  C.  536.  There  is  no  occasion,  however,  to  make 
use  of  the  argument  from  fulfillment  for  help  in  the  interpre- 
tation of  this  prophecy.     And  prophecy  ought  to  have  its  mean.- 

ing    settled   before   we    come   to    the    question  of  fulfillment. 

Dr.  Hengstenberg  gives  this  turn  to  the  clause  now  before  us: 
"  From  tiie  going  forth  of  the  commandment  unto  the  restoring  and 
rebuilding  of  Jerusalem,  and  from  that,  unto  the  Messiah,  shall  be 
seven  sevens  and  sixty-two  sevens" — i  e.,  dividing  the  whole  period 
into  two  parts,  the  first  period  of  seven  sevens  extends  to  the  point 
where  the  city  is  restored  and  rebuilt ;  the  second  reaches  from  that 

point  to  the  Messiah, 1  fully  concur  in  this  division  of  the  whole 

period  into  these  two  portions,  limited  as  above  stated ;  but  I  think 
it  better  to  read,  "From  the  commandment /or  restoring,"  etc., 
rather  than,  "From  the  commandment  ^a^t^l  the  restoring,"  etc. 
The  latter  is  by  no  means  a  facile  rendering.  It  leaves  too  much 
to  be  grammatically  supplied. The  word  rendered  in  our  re- 
ceived version,  "the  wall,"  I  take  to  be  a  participle  in  the  sense 
of  a  verb;  "it  is  determined,"  fully  settled  and  decided  on.  For 
the  comfort  of  Daniel  and  of  his  pious  Jewish  readers,  it  is  here 
declared  that  this  rebuilding  of  the  city  is  firmly  fixed  in  the  coun- 
sels of  God  and  will  be  done,  although  the  obstacles  be  great — in 
great  "  straitness  of  times."     The  book  of  Nehemiah  is  a  comment 

on  this  clause. "After  the  sixty-two  sevens  shall  Messiah  be 

cut  of,"  L  €.,  by  a  violent  death.     This  is  the  current  Jewish  word 

to  denote  a  death  by  violence. "But  not  for  himself,"  shows 

that  our  translators  supposed  the  original  to  mean  that  he  died  for 
the  sins  of  others  and  not  for  his  own.  This  is  undoubtedly  a 
truth,  but  it  may  not  be  the  truth  taught  here.  The  original,  ren- 
dered closely,  would  give  us  tliis;  "And  nothing  to  him."  The  verb 
of  existence  must  be  implied  between  "nothing"  and  "him,"  thus; 
Nothing  shall  be  to  him,  or  he  shall  have  nothing.  The  ellipsis 
can  not  well  be  supplied  with  the  next  preceding  verb,  "  cut  off," 
in  the  sense,  He  shall  not  be  cut  off  for  him.  "For  him"  can 
not  well  mean  for  himself  The  Hebrews  use  other  forms  and  not 
this  to  express  the  reciprocal  sense.  Hence  Ave  must  look  for 
another  meaning  here.  1  find  it  in  the  negation  of  all  further  re-, 
lations  between  him  and  his  ancient  covenant  people,  the  Jews,  his 
murderers.  "There  is  nothing  more  to  him"  with  them.  They  ig- 
nore and  repudiate  him;  He  rejects  them  and  gives  them  up  to 
their  just  doom.  Zech.  11 :  8,  treating  of  precisely  the  same  sub- 
ject, says;  "My  soul  loathed  them;  and  their  soul  abhorred  me." 
They  said,  "Away  with  him;"  "crucify  him;"  "his  blood  be  on 
us  and  on  our  children."  Ilis  sad  answer,  fulfilled  through  tha 
judgments  of  his  righteous  providence,  was ;  "  Your  house  is  left 
unto  you  desolate."    "  O  that  thou  liadst  known,  even  tliou,  at  least 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  IX.  407 

in  this  thy  day,  the  things  that  belong  unto  thy  peace;  but  now 
they  are  hid  from  thine  eyes."  Thafc  blood  ye  have  so  ruthlessly 
invoked  shall  come  on  you  in  an  avalanche  of  woes  till  your  city  is 

in  ruins,  and  your  children  are  given  to  the  slaughter. Further, 

it  is  very  much  in  favor  of  the  interpretation  above  given  to  this 
clause,  that  it  makes  a  natural  transition  from  the  violent  death  of 
Christ  to  the  coming  of  that  other  Prince  and  his  Roman  legions 
to  destroy  the  city  and  sanctuary.  The  intermediate  link  between 
these  two  great  historic  facts  was  the  rejection  by  the  Messiah  of 
his  ancient  covenant  people.     Without  this  link,  the  transition  is 

violent;    with    it,   natural    and   easy. "The  Prince   that  shall 

come"  is  without  doubt  the  Roman  general  Titus,  and  "the  peo- 
ple" are  his  armed  legions.      They  came  and  did  precisely  this; 

they  "destroyed  the  city  and  the  .sanctuary." "Its  end  was  with 

that  flood,"  i.  e.,  of  ruin;  This  word,  "flood,"  is  a  favorite  one  with 
Daniel  for  the  sweeping  desolations  of  war.      See  11:  22,  26,  40. 

"And  unto  the  end  is  war;  a  decree  of  ruins."      This  I  take 

to  be  the  most  exact  and  literal  rendering  of  the  last  clause.  The 
sense  is  obvious.  The  Jewish  and  Roman  war  shall  continue  un- 
til their  city  and  nationality  shall  be  completely  broken  down  and 

the  site  of  their  noble  city  shall  become  a  pile  of  ruins. "  He 

shall  confirm,"  etc.  The  grammatical  construction  here  is  obvi- 
ously this.  " One  seven  shall  make  the  covenant  effective  to  many" 
— a  case  in  which,  for  brevity's  sake,  the  period  of  time  is  itself 
said  to  do  that  which  is  done  within  it,  as  e.  g.,  Mai.  4:  1;  "The 
day  that  cometh  shall  burn  them  up ;  or  Job  3 :  3,  7,  10,  "  The 
night  which  said,  A  man-child  is  conceived."     "Let  that  night  be 

solitary  because  it  shut  not  up  the  doors  of  my  mother's  womb." 

The  next  clause  has  the  same  construction;    The  middle  of  the 

seven  shall  cause  sacrifice  and  oblation  to  cease." The  sense 

of  this  entire  passage  is  that  during  the  last  seven  years,  the  clos- 
ing heptad,  which  embraces  the  three  and  a  half  years  of  our 
Lord's  public  ministry,  and  the  same  length  of  time  after  his 
death,  there  would  be  extraordinary  efficiency  in  the  sealing  gifts 
of  the  Spirit.  God's  gracious  covenant  with  repenting  sinners 
would  become  strong  and  effective  to  many.  Great  numbers  would 
be  savingly  converted  during  our  Lord's  public  ministry:  so,  also, 
during  an  equal  length  of  time  after  his  resurrection,  including 
that  blessed  pentecostal  season,  prota-'acted  through  several  years, 
in  which  great  multitudes  were  added  to  the  Lord.  At  the  middle 
point  of  this  seven-year  period,  the  Lord  himself  would  die  on  the 
cross.  In  that  death  all  further  demand  for  sacrifice  and  oblation 
would  cease.  Dying  as  himself  the  great  atoning  Sacrifice,  he  for- 
ever superseded  all  other  sacrifices. "And  for  the  overspreading 

of  abominations  he  shall  make  it  desolate."  This  translation  seems 
to  be  rather  unusually  wide  of  the  literal  one,  though  less  wide  of 
the  sense.  The  following  is  a  closely  literal  rendering  of  the  orig- 
inal: "And  upon  the  wing  [or  summit]  of  abominations  is  the 
desolator." The  difficulties  involved  in  the  quotation  of  this  pas- 
sage into  Mat.  24:  14,  and  Mark  13:  13.  seem  to  require  a  specially 


408  DANIEL.— CHAP.  IX. 

careful  explanation. ^The  word  which  I  render  "wing,"  is  very 

common  in  Hebrew  for  the  wing  of  a  bird ;  the  wing  of  an  army ; 
the  wing  or  corner  of  a  garment;  the  wings  (extreme  corners)  of 
the  land ;  and,  as  here,  the  wing,  highest  point,  pinnacle,  of  the 
temple.      As  it  stands  here,  it  must  be  the  wing  of  that  which  is 

called  an  "abomination." This  word,  "abominations,"  is  used 

almost  exclusively  (more  than  a  score  of  times)  for  idols  or  things 
connected  with  idol  worship,  the  idols  being  always  thought  of  as 
existing,  loved  and  worshiped  by  God's  professed  people^  and  for  this 
reason  indefinitely  more  abominable  and  detestable  to  God.  Pas- 
sages specially  significant  and  illustrative  of  the  sense  here  are, 
Jer.  7:  30 — "For  the  children  of  Judah  have  done  evil  in  my 
sight,  saith  the  Lord;  they  have  set  their  abominations  in  the 
house  which  is  called  by  my  name  to  pollute  it."  Jer.  32:  34, 
repeats  the  same  idea.  Also  Ezek.  5 :  II:'"  Wherefore  as  I  live, 
saith  the  Lord  God,  because  thou  hast  defiled  nly  sanctuary  with 
all  thy  detestable  things  and  with  all  thine  abominations ;  there- 
fore will  I  also  diminish  thee,  neither  shall  mine  eyes  spare,  neither 
will  1  have  any  pity."  These  passages  clearly  indicate  the  reason 
why  the  temple  is  called  an  abomination  and  is  doomed  to  destruc- 
tion.  The  word  which  I  translate  "  the  desolator,"  being  a  causa- 
tive participle,  one  who  causes  desolation,  can  bear  no  other  sense 
than  "^Ae  desolator^''  conceived  of  as  actually  doing  the  deed. 
Hence  the  sentence  can  scarcely  bear  any  other  construction  than 
this;  "Then  down  upon  the  pinnacle  of  the  temple"  (made  abom- 
inable by  the  corruption  of  priests  and  people)  "  comes  the  deso- 
lator " — as  Avith  the  swoop  of  an  eagle  pouncing  on  his  prey. 

This  is  the  prophecy  to  which  our  Lord  refers  in  Mat.  2-4:  15,  and 
Mark  13:  14:  "When  ye  shall  see  the  abomination  of  desolation, 
spoken  of  by  Daniel  the  prophet,  standing  in  the  holy  place," 
("where  it  ought  not;"  Mark)  then  let  them  that  be  in  Judca  flee 

into  the  mountains." This  quotation  is  obviously  made  from  the 

Heptuagint  version.  The  sense  of  the  words  there  used,  "abom- 
ination of  desolation,"  I  take  to  be  the  abomination  which,  under 
a  righteous  God,  becomes  the  cause  of  desolation.  This  abomina- 
tion is  fundamentally  the  fearful  religious  corruption  of  the  Jews, 
because  of  which  God  sent  on  them  the  Komans  as  his  scourge  of 
desolation.  The  Hebrew  words  used  by  Daniel  seem  to  demand 
this  sense,  and  the  Greek  of  both  the  ISeptuagint  and  of  the  Xew 
Testament  admits  it.  But  precisely  ichat  indications  of  this  moral 
corruption,  or  of  this  approaching  scourge,  the  disciples  were  to 
look  for,  and  were  supposed  to  see,  as  aVarning  to  flee,  it  is  by 
no  means  easy  to  determine.  On  this  point  commentators  difter 
widely.  It  may  perhaps  suffice  to  put  the  case  in  the  general 
form;  Any  indication  that  God  had  given  up  the  city  to  destruc- 
tion by  the  Ixomans,  whether  it  be  in  the  horrible  corruption  of 
the  Jews  or  in  the  approach  of  the  Koman  legions,  was  to  bo  ac- 
cepted as  a  warning  to  fly.  In  this  general  form  no  serious  dif- 
ficulties are  encountered.  When  we  attempt  to  desci-ibe  the  sign 
precisely,  we  find   thn  data  wanting. In  coustruint!;  the  Avords 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  IX.  -409 

of  Daniel,  I  have  felt  bound  to  follow  the  usual  laws  of  language. 
Quotations  from  the  Septuagint  of  the  Old  Testament  into  the  New 

sometimes  involve  difficulties,  as  here. Luke  makes  no  specific 

reference  to  Daniel.  He  says,  "  When  ye  shall  see  Jerusalem  en- 
compassed with  armies,"  etc.  Of  course  he  makes  no  allusion  to 
the  sins  of  the  Jews  as  causing  this  destruction.  But  this  does 
not  prove  that  ^latthew  and  Mark  make  none.  Our  Lord  may 
have  made  the  statements  in  both  forms.  Neither  is  at  all  incon- 
sistent with  the  other. 

It  remains  to  look  more  closely  into  the  designations  of  time  in 

this  passage. ^xis  we  have  seen,  the  seventy  weeks  are  to  be 

counted  from  the  decree  of  Artaxerxes,  obtained  by  Xehemiah,  as 
appears  Xeh.  1  and  2,  in  the  twentieth  year  of  that  king.  The 
first  point  to  be  settled  then  is,  the  year  in  which  Artaxerxes  began 

to  reign. It  has  been  common  with  chronologists  to  put  this  B.  C. 

464.  But  Dr.  Hengstenberg  (Christology  11,  394),  by  a  most  elab- 
orate and  conclusive  examination,  shows  that  it  must  have  been  B.  C. 
474,  so  tliat  Xerxes  his  father  reigned  only  eleven  years  instead  of 
twenty-one,  and  Artaxerxes  the  son  fifty-one  instead  of  forty-one. 

Adopting  his  view,  the  case  stands  thus. The  twentieth  year  of 

Artaxerxes  is  B.  C.  454.  Sixty-nine  sevens  of  years  is  four  hundred 
and  eighty-three  years.  Deducting  from  this  what  precedes  the  birth 
of  Christ,  we  have  483 — 454=29,  which  is  of  course  A.  D.  29,  the  time 
when  our  Lord  began  his  public  ministry.     So  this  prophecy  would 

locate  it. On  the  side  of  N.  T.  history,  we  have  (e.  g.^  Luke  3:1) 

the  commencement  of  John's  ministry  in  the  fifteenth  year  of  Ti];e- 
rius,  I.  e.,  in  the  year  of  Rome  782.  The  birth  of  Christ  is  usually 
put  in  the  year  of  Rome  753.  But  782 — 753=29,  which  is  A.  D.  29. 
This,  then,  would  be  about  the  time  that  John  commenced  his  pulj- 
lic  ministry.  There  is  good  reason  for  supposing  that  Christ  com- 
menced his  about  six  months  later,  when  not  far  from  thirty  years 

of  age. Thus  this  great  prophecy  of  Daniel's  weeks  fixes  the 

time  of  the  Savior's  appearing  before  the  public  within  at  farthest 

one  year  of  the  best  historic  results. This  prophecy  also  assumes 

that  Christ's  public  ministry  continued  three  and  one-half  years,  so 
that  his  violent  death  fell  in  the  middle  of  the  last  seven-year  period. 
That  this  was  proximately  the  duration  of  his  ministry  is  generally 
admitted.     The  proof  in  brief  may  be  made  from  the  Gospel  of 

John  thus. (1.)  Jn.  2 :  13,  gives  us  one  passover,  the  first  after  his 

ministry  began,  and  manifestly  not  long  after  his  first  miracle,  say 
six  months  after  he  began  to  preach. (2.)  John  5:  1,  gives  an- 
other feast,  which  with  almost  a  certainty  Avas  a  passover. (3.) 

John  6:   1,  is  certainly  another  and  doubtless  the    next. (4.) 

John  19:  16,  is  certainly  another  and  the  last;  at  which  his  death 

occurred. This  makes  up  three  and  one-half  years.     The  only 

point  of  uncertainty  turns  on  John  5:1.  This  is  not  said  in  the 
record  to  be  a  passover,  yet  that  it.  was  is  evident  from  the  follow- 
ing considerations.  John  4 :  35,  shows  that  eight  months  had  already 
elapsed  since  the  previous  passover.  Of  course  the  feast  of  Pente- 
cost, fifty  days  after  the  passover,  and  the  feast  of  Tabernacles, 
18 


410  DANIEL.— CHAP.  X. 

six  months  after,  had  both  gone  by.  No  "feast  of  the  Jews"  re- 
mained for  that  year  save  the  feast  of  Purim,  one  month  before  the 
next  passover.  But  this  can  not  have  been  the  feast  of  Purim,  for 
the  temple  is  here  filled  Avith  Jews  (5 :  14) ;  but  they  kept  the  feast 
of  Purim  mostly  l)y  assemblinir,  not  in  their  temple,  but  in  their 
several  homes.  Moreover,  this  foast  included  a  Sabbath  (v.  9), 
which  the  feast  of  Purim  never  did,  because  a  divine  institution 
must  never  give  way  to  one  merely  human. 

This  very  brief  view  of  the  argument  must  suffice. Thus  with 

remarkable  accuracy  this  wonderful  prophecy  brings  out  its  dates 
in  harmony  with  the  best  authenticated  facts  of  history. 


CHAPTER  X. 


This  entire  chapter  is  introductory  to  the  fourth  and  last  of  the 
parallel  visions,  the  vision  proper  occupying  the  two  remaining 
chapters.  This  introduction  is  very  full  on  the  points  of  the  pro- 
phet's overwhelming  agitation,  grief,  and  physical  prostration;  the 
renewed  ministries  of  his  revealing  angel  to  comfort  and  strengthen 
him ;  certain  remarkable  yet  little  known  conflicts  between  the 
angel-guardians  of  the  Jews  and  other  angels  standing  in  perhaps 
analogous  relations  toward  other  kingdoms — coupled  with  several 
intimations  that  the  matters  to  be  revealed  relate  to  long  and 
grievous  wars,  some  of  which  would  befall  Daniel's  people  in  future 
years. 

1.  In  tlie  third  year  of  Cyrus  king  of  Persia  a  thing  was 
revealed  unto  Daniel,  whose  name  was  called  Belteshazzar ; 
and  the  thing  ivas  true,  but  the  time  appointed  was  long: 
and  he  understood  the  thing,  and  had  understanding  of  the 
vision. 

The  third  year  of  Cyrus  is  the  latest  known  date  in  the  life  of 
Daniel.  Chap.  1:  21,  states  that  "he  continued  to  the  first  year 
of  the  reign  of  Cyrus;'  but  does  not  say  he  died  then;  does  not 
deny  that  he  lived  longer.  That  passage  may  mean  only  that 
he  continued  so  long  in  active  pul)lic  service.  He  is  now  far  ad- 
vanced in  ago,  it  being  not  far  from  seventy-four  years  since  he 

was  brought,  a  captive  youth,  from  Jerusalem  to  Babylon. "A 

thing  was  revealed;"  in  the  Hebrew  a  "word,"  i.  e.,  a  matter,  not 
presented  largely  (as  in  the  previous  visions)  by  symbols,  but 
without  symbols,   in  mere  words.       "The  thing  was   true;"  the 

^^ word"  again;    the  original  being  the  same. ^In  the  phrase, 

"  the  time  appointed  was  long,"*our  translators  fail  to  give  the  pre- 
cise sense  of  the  original,  which  means,  "and  of  great  wars'  or 
warfare;  i.  c,  the  subject-matter  of  this  prophecy  pertains  to 
great  wars — as  the  study  of  cliap.   11    will  show.      The  original 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  X.  411 

word,  commonly  rendered  host  is  used  for  martial  host,  i.  e.,  an 
army,  and  for  warfare;  often  of  going  out  to  loar^  as  in  Num.  31 :  27, 

28,  3G,  and  Dcut.  24 :  5. "  True  is  the  word  revealed,  and  great 

the  warfare"  of  Avhich  it  treats. "He   understood  the   thing," 

the  sense  of  which  seems  rather  to  be  that  he  gave  diligent  heed 
to  it,  bending  the  entire  powers  of  his  mind  to  it;  for  chap  12:  8, 
implies  that  there  were  at  least  some  things  in  it  that  he  did  not 
understand. 

2.  In  those  days  I  Daniel  was  mourning  three  full  w^eeks. 

3.  I  ate  no  pleasant  bread,  neither  came  flesh  nor  wine 
in  my  mouth,  neither  did  I  anoint  myself  at  all,  till  three 
whole  weeks  were  fulfilled. 

So  deeply  affected  was  he  with  the  anticipation  of  these  things, 
even  before  they  were  definitely  revealed.  But  it  should  be  remem- 
bered that  he  has  had  the  same  general  subject  before  his  mind  in 
at  least  two  previous  visions,  those  of  chaps.  7  and  8.  In  both  those 
visions,  the  wars  to  be  waged  by  the  little  horn  against  the  saints 
of  the  Most  High  had  been  the  leading  theme,  an*d  had  manifestly 
impressed  his  mind  powerfully.  Now,  even  before  the  details  of 
this  vision  commence,  his  mind  again  comes  under  the  strong  im- 
pression of  those  scenes,  and  the  deep  fountains  of  his  grief  are 

broken  up. The  statements  as  to  time  here;  "three  full  weeks" 

(v.  2),  and  "  three  whole  weeks  "  (v.  3),  are  the  same  in  the  orig- 
inal, and  are  literally,  "three  sevens"  (or  heptads)  "as  to  days" — 
the  word  "days"  being  added  to  exclude  what  otherwise  a  Hebrew 
reader  would  think  of — a  week  of  years.  The  word  for  "  seven"  is 
precisely  the  same  in  form  that  occurred  repeatedly  in  the  pas- 
sage 9  :   24-27. This  abstaining  from  pleasant  food  and  from 

anointing  his  person,  were  the  usual  indications  of  great  grief. 

4.  And  in  the  four  and'  twentieth  day  of  the  first  month, 
as  I  was  by  the  side  of  the  great  river,  wdiich  is  Hiddekel  ; 

5.  Then  I  lifted  up  mine  eyes,  and  looked,  and  behold  a 
certain  man  clothed  in  linen,  whose  loins  ivere  girded  with 
fine  gold  of  Uphaz : 

6.  His  body  also  loas  like  the  beryl,  and  his  face  as  the 
appearance  of  lightning,  and  his  eyes  as  lamps  of  fire,  and 
his  arms  and  his  feet  like  in  color  to  polished  brass,  and 
the  voice  of  his  words  like  the  voice  of  a  multitude. 

The  river  Hiddekel  is  better  known  as  the  Tigris. The  per- 
sonage described  here  was  his  angel-interpretcr  in  human  form, 
and  in  his  whole  appearance,  splendid,  majestic,  awe-inspiring.  Of 
the  two  usual  Hebrew  words  for  man,  the  one  used  here  is  that 
which  involves  most  dignity.  The  other  suggests  frailty  and  mor- 
tality from  the  dust  of  the  earth. "  His  body  like  the  beryl," 

whore  modern  lexicogi*aphcrs  say  rather  the  topaz.     The  Hebrew 


412  DANIEL.— CHAP.  X. 

is  Tliarfihish,  with  reference  to  Spain  whence  it  was  brought.  The 
topaz  is  still  found  there. 

7.  And  I  Daniel  alone  saw  the  vision :  for  the  men  that 
were  with  me  saw  not  the  vision ;  hut  a  great  quaking  fell 
upon  them,  so  that  they  fled  to  hide  themselves. 

8.  Therefore  I  was  left  alone,  and  saw  this  great  vision, 
and  there  remained  no  strength  in  me:  for  my  comeliness 
was  turned  in  me  into  corruption,  and  I  retained  no 
strength. 

9.  Yet  heard  I  the  voice  of  his  words :  and  when  I  heard 
the  voice  of  his  words,  then  was  I  in  a  deep  sleep  on  my 
face,  and  my  face  toward  the  ground. 

10.  And  behold,  a  hand  touched  me,  which  set  me  upon 
my  knees  and  itpo7i  the  palms  of  my  hands. 

11.  And  he  said  unto  me,  O  Daniel,  a  man  greatly  be- 
loved, understand  the  words  that  I  speak  unto  thee,  and 
stand  upright :  for  unto  thee  I  am  now  sent.  And  when  he 
had  spoken  this  word  unto  me,  I  stood  trembling. 

Daniel  does  not  mean  that  he  was  alone  when  he  saw  the  vision, 
but  that  he  only  saw  it.  His  attendants  did  not  see  it,  but  were 
impressed  with  a  sense  of  something  supernatural,  and  hence  were 
affrighted  and  fled  to  hide  themselves.  The  seeing  in  this  case 
seems  to  have  been,  not  with  the  eye  of  sense,  but  with  the  eye  of 
the  spirit.  Similar  phenomena  occurred  in  the  conversion  of  Saul. 
He  heard  audible   words;    his    attendants  heard  a  noise  but  no 

words.     The  Spirit  manifests  himself  to  whom  he  will. Daniel 

was  powerfully  affected.     "My  comeliness"  is  rather  my  strength, 

my  physical  vigor,  which  now  became  mere  weakness. In  v.  10 

the  original  gives  a  stronger  sense  than  our  received  version.  "And 
lo,  a  hand  touched  me,  and  set  me  shaking  upon  my  knees  and  the 
palms  of  my  hands."  "Caused  me  to  be  shaking"  is  the  precise 
sense  of  the  Hebrew. 

12.  Then  said  he  unto  me,  Fear  not,  Daniel :  for  from 
the  first  day  that  thou  didst  set  thy  heart  to  understand, 
and  to  chasten  thyself  before  thy  God,  thy  words  were 
heard,  and  I  am  come  for  thy  words. 

13.  But  the  prince  of  the  kingdom  of  Persia  withstood 
me  one  and  twenty  days:  but  lo,  Michael,  one  of  the  chief 
princes,  came  to  help  me ;  and  I  remained  there  with  the 
kings  of  Persia. 

From  the  first  day  of  those  three  eventful  weeks  of  fasting  and 
prayer  (says  the  angel)  thy  words  Avcre  heard  and  I  am  come  be- 
cause of  thy  words.  But  I  was  hindered  during  the  whole  twenty- 
one  days.     The  Prince  of  the  realm  of  Persia  withstood  me.     I  was 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  X.  413 

detained  till  Michael,  the  archangel  whose  strength  is  with  me  and 
with  thy  people  (v.  21)  came  to  help  me.  The  last  clause,  "I  re- 
mained there  with  the  kings  of  Persia,"  repeats  the  main  idea  of 
the  verse — his  detention  for  twenty-one  days  because  of  the  oppo- 
sition experienced  from  that  Prince  of  the  realm  of  Persia. Tlie 

subject  here  introduced  is  very  extraordinary.  Who  is  this  Prince 
of  the  kingdom  of  Persia?  What  are  his  functions?  Whence  his 
power  ?  What  is  his  moral  character,  and  what  are  his  relations  to 
(Jod?  What  had  he  to  do  to  detain  this  angel  who  is  specially 
commissioned  to  comfort  Daniel  and  to  reveal  to  him  future  events  ? 

The  same  subject  appears  again  in  the  last  two  verses  of  this 

chapter,  and  will  receive  more  attention  there. 

14.  Now  I  am  come  to  make  thee  understand  what  shall 
bqiall  thy  people  in  the  latter  days ;  for  yet  the  vision  is  for 
7na7iy  days. 

This  statement  is  of  prime  importance  as  giving  a  clew  to  the  in- 
terpretation of  this  prophecy,  and  equally  so,  of  those  that  arc  par- 
allel with  it.  It  positively  affirms  that  this  prophecy  (chap.  11  and 
12)  relates  to  the  fortunes  of  the  Jews,  Daniel's  own  people,  in 
future  times.  How  far  down  in  the  future  can  not  be  definitely 
determined  from  this  general  expression,  "in  the  latter  days." 
There  are  instances  in  which  this  phrase  refers  to  the  times  of  the 
Messiah — the  gospel  age  of  the  world;  e.  g.,  Isa.  2:  2,  and  Mich. 
4:  1.  But  there  are  also  other  instances  in  which  it  refers  to  events 
far  less  remote,  e.  g.  Gen.  49 :  1,  which  looks  to  the  various  fortunes 
of  the  tribes,  mostly  long  prior  to  the  gospel  age.  Also  Xum.  24 : 
14 — the  outlook  of  Balaam,  which  primarily  goes  not  beyond  the 
overthrow  of  Moab  by  David.  So  that  the  usage  of  this  phrase 
does  not  of  necessity  carry  us  into  the  latter  times  of  the  Messiah's 
kingdom.     In  the  present  case  it  manifestly  had  its  fulfillment  prior 

to  the  first  advent  of  Christ. "For  yet  the  vision  is  for  days  " — 

not  necessarily  '■'■many  days,"  for  our  translators  supplied  the  word 
"many"  to  meet  their  own  views,  and  not  because  they  found  any 
thing  for  it  in  the  Hebrew  text.  .Some  years  must  elapse  before 
these  main  events  would  transpire.  It  was  in  fact  about  three  hun- 
dred and  sixty  years  to  the  reign  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes — tho 
"vile  king"  whose  case  occupies  the  greater  part  of  this  vision. 

15.  And  when  he  had  spoken  such  words  unto  me,  I  set 
my  face  toward  the  ground,  and  I  became  dumb. 

16.  And  behold,  one  like  the  similitude  of  the  sons  of 
meri  touched  my  lips :  then  I  opened  my  mouth,  and  spake, 
and  said  unto  him  that  stood  before  me,  O  my  lord,  by  the 
vision  my  soii'ows  are  turned  upon  me,  and  I  have  retained 
no  strength. 

17.  For  how  can  the  servant  of  this  my  lord  talk  with 
this  my  lord  ?  for  as  for  me,  straightway  there  remained  no 
strength  in  me,  neither  is  there  breath  left  in  me. 


414  DANIEL.— CHAP.  X. 

Again  Daniel  becomes  completely  prostrate  in  point  of  physical 
strength.  Sorrows,  wave  after  wave,  come  up  and  dash  over  him; 
he  loses  his  strength  and  almost  his  breath.  How  can  he  talk  with 
his  angel-interpreter,  or  receive  communications  from  him?  This 
great  prostration  may  be  due  in  part  to  his  extreme  age ;  more,  wo 
must  suppose,  to  the  great  depth  of  his  sympathy  and  love  for  his 
people. 

18.  Then  there  came  again  and  touched  me  one  like  the 
appearance  of  a  man,  and  he  strengthened  me, 

19.  And  said,  O  man  greatly  beloved,  fear  not :  peace  he 
unto  thee,  be  strong,  yea,  be  strong.  And  when  he  had 
spoken  unto  me,  I  was  strengthened,  and  said.  Let  my  lord 
speak;  for  thou  hast  strengthened  me. 

The  manner  of  introducing  the  angels  (vs.  16,  18)  may  seem  to 
fiivor  the  opinion  that  these  were  severally  distinct  from  each  other 
and  from  the  one  introduced  in  vs.  5,  G.  But  the  notice  of  the  re- 
vealing angel  in  vs.  20,  21,  supports  the  view  that  he  is  one  only, 
and  that  these  are  his  several  manifestations.  He  now  gives  Daniel 
strength,  and  the  way  is  prepared  to  proceed  with  his  revelations. 

20.  Then  said  he,  Knowest  thou  wherefore  I  come  unto 
thee?  and  now  will  I  return  to  light  with  the  prince  of 
Persia :  and  when  I  am  gone  forth,  lo,  the  prince  of  Grecia 
shall  come. 

.  21.  But  I  will  shew  thee  that  which  is  noted  in  the  scrip- 
ture of  truth:  and  there  is  none  that  holdeth  wdth  me  in 
these  things,  but  Michael  your  prince. 

Now  he  returns  to  renew  the  struggle  with  the  prince  of  Persia. 
TJie  prince  of  Grecia  will  come  in  also — we  must  suppose  in  the 
same  relation  of  antagonism  to  God's  revealing  angel  and  to  Michael 
who  '■''makes  himself  strong''  for  the  aid  of  this  good  angel-inter- 
preter and  of  Daniel's  people. What  does  all  this  import?     Is 

this  prince  of  Persia  a  good  angel,  or  an  i3vil  one  ?  in  allegiance  to 
God,  or  to  Satan  ?  If  to  God,  why  is  he  lighting  with  this  good 
angel  sent  of  God  to  the  prophet  Daniel? Some  of  these  ques- 
tions are  readily  answered.  The  prince  of  Persia  shows  himself 
an  adversary  to  God  and  to  God's  people.  In  his  efforts  and  hence 
in  his  character,  he  is  opposed  to  Michael  who  stands  up  for  God 
and  for  the  interests  of  his  kingdom.  He  must  belong  to  that  order 
of  beings  commonly  represented  in  Scripture  l)y  Satan,  the  great 
adversary  of  God  and  of  liis  people.  Satan  often  appears  in  Scrip- 
ture, not  as  one  alone  in  his  rebellion  among  the  higher  orders  of 
created  beings,  but  as  having  legions  associated  with  him.  They 
are  of  various  grades  or  orders.  As  good  angels  are  put  by  their 
Maker  in  charge  over  the  nations  of  his  people,  nothing  forbids 
that  these  bad  angels  should  in  some  sense  be  put  in  charge  over 
wicked  nations  by  their  chief  who  directs  and  inspires  their  antag- 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  XI.  415 

onism  to  the  living  God.     This  view  is  fully  in  harmony  with  the 

teachings  of  the  New  Testament. Traces  of  the  opinion  that  the 

heathen  nations  had  each  its  own  presiding  angel  are  supposed  to 
appear  in  the  Septuagint  translation  of  Deut.  32 :  8.  The  Hebrew 
of  this  passage  should  be  translated,  "  When  the  Most  Iligh  in  ap- 
portioning the  sons  of  men  gave  their  inheritance  to  the  nations,  ho 
fixed  the  bounds  of  the  peoples  with  reference  to  the  number  of  the 
sons  of  Israel."  But  the  Septuagint  has  the  last  clause,  "  according 
to  the  number  of  the  angels  of  God,"  i.  e.,  so  as  to  give  one  angel 

to  each  several  nation. This  Septuagint  translation  was  made 

(as  is  supposed)  about  B.  0.  285,  The  allusions  in  the  Scriptures 
to  ]Michacl  suffice  to  show  his  relations  to  God  and  to  his  people 

very  clearly.      See  Dan.  12:  1;  Judo   9,   and  Rev.  12:  7. "I 

will  show  thee  that  which  is  noted  (written)  in  the  scripture  of 
truth,"  where  by  the  scripture  of  truth  we  are  not  to  understand 
our  Bible,  as  if  the  angel  proposed  only  to  make  a  quotation  from 
what  we  call  the  sacred  Scriptures.  lie  thinks  rather  of  the  book 
of  God's  eternal  purposes,  from  which  he  is  commissioned  to  make 
an  .extract,  prophetically,  for  Daniel  and  his  people,  of  what  shall 

befall  them  in  future  days. The  introduction  being  now  finished, 

the  next  chapter  proceeds  to  the  prophecy. 


CHAPTER  XI. 


As  already  intimated,  this  is  precisely  "a  word,"  see  10:  1, 
there  called  a  "thing,"  but  in  Hebrew  a  "word."  It  is  a  word  in 
the  sense  of  being  revealed  in  ivords,  and  not  at  all  in  symbols,  as 
the  previous  visions  on  this  general  theme  had  been.    Consequently 

this  may  well  be  accounted  as  an  interpretation  of  those. Like 

the  other  visions,  this  starts  with  the  time  then  present,  or  rather 
it  sets  back  some  four  or  five  years,  i' e.,  from  the  third  year  of 
Cyrus  (10:  1)  to  the  first  year  of  Darius,  his  immediate  predecessor, 
who  reigned  two  years.  The  revealing  angel  simply  remarks  that 
in  the  first  year  of  Darius  he  "stood  to  confirm  and  strengthen 
him."  The  prophecy  proper  begins  with  v.  2,  at  the  point  then 
present;  "there  shall  stand  up  yet,"  etc.,  i.  e.,  after  Cyrus,  then  on 
the  throne. ^Then  the  course  of  prophetic  thought  in  the  chap- 
ter is  a  rapid  sketch  of  the  Persian  kings  to  Xerxes;  then  by  a 
natural  transition  to  Alexander  and  his  great  kingdom;  then  its 
four-fold  division ;  then  the  two  of  these  four  kingdoms,  with  which 
alone  the  Jews  were  concerned;  Egypt  on  the  south,  and  Syria  on 
the  north,  running  through  the  history  of  ten  kings,  five  of  the 
former  kingdom,  and  five  of  the  latter,  till  he  reaches  Antiochus 
Epiphanes  in  v.  21.    He  then  gives  his  history  througli  the  chapter 

to  his  death  (v.  45). In  this,  as  in  the  other  parallel  visions,  I 

propose  fii'st  to  give  special  comments  on  the  words  and  phrases  aa 


416  DANIEL.— CHAP.  XI. 

may  seem  requisite,  postponing  till  afterward  any  general  discus- 
sion in  defense  of  my  interpretation  and  against  opposing  views. 

1.  Also  I,  in  the  first  year  of  Darius  the  Mede,  even  I, 
stood  to  confirm  and  to  strengthen  him. 

This  passage  seems  to  show  that  even  heathen  kings,  when  do- 
ing service  for  the  true  God,  were  confirmed  and  strengthened  by 
good  angels. 

2.  And  noAV  will  I  shew  thee  the  truth.  Behold,  there 
shall  stand  up  yet  three  kings  in  Persia  ;  and  the  fourth 
shall  be  far  richer  than  they-  all :  and  by  his  strength 
through  his  riches  he  shall  stir  up  all  against  the  realm 
of  Grecia. 

"Yet"  (after  Cyrus)  there  were  in  order  these  three  kings  of 
Persia;  viz.,  Cambyses,  reigning  seven  and  a  half  years;  Smerdis, 
the  Magian,  seven  months ;  Darius  Ilystaspis,  thirty-six  years.    Of 

these  there  is  no  occasion  here  to  give  any  details. fhe  fourth 

must  be  described  more  particularly,  lie  is  Xerxes  the  Great; 
distinguished  for  his  riches.  The  exploits  of  his  life  are  summed 
up  in  precisely  one  thing — his  great  military  expedition  against 
Greece.  "He  shall  stir  up  all" — and  truly  it  was  all  Western 
Asia,  organizing  itself  for  war  to  come  down  upon  the  small  terri- 
tory, and  relatively  very  insignificant  numbers,  of  Greece.  Uni- 
versal history  gives  no  reoord  of  a  military  expedition  so  vast  and 
so  imposing,  nor  of  any  one  which  achieved  a  more  signal  failure. 
Armed  men  and  retainers — his  host  is  estimated  at  five  millions. 
Uncounted  wealth  was  lavished  upon  their  outfit.  All  the  prov- 
inces of  the  east  contributed  to  the  s-plendor  of  this  array  and  to 
the  mass  of  living  mortality  that  pressed  toward  the  shores  of  the 
Hellespont  to  pour  itself  over  the  narrow  fields  of  Greece. Re- 
markably the  revealing  angel  has  not  a  word  to  say  of  the  achieve- 
ments of  this  martial  host.  "  He  stood  up  against  the  realm  of 
Greece  " — that  is  all  he  says.  And,  historically,  that  was  all.  The 
expedition  came  utterly  to  naught. 

3.  And  a  mighty  king  shall  stand  up,  that  shall  rule 
with  great  dominion,  and  do  according  to  his  wdll. 

4.  And  wdien  he  shall  stand  up,  his  kinc^lom  shall  be 
broken,  and  shall  be  divided  toward  the  four  winds  of 
heaven ;  and  not  to  his  posterity,  nor  according  to  his  do- 
minion which  he  ruled :  for  his  kingdom  shall  be  plucked 
up,  even  for  others  besides  those. 

Alexander  comes  next,  reached  not  closely  in  the  order  of  time, 
but  in  the  order  of  cause  and  effect.  As  already  suggested  in  my 
notes  on  8 :  5-7,  the  Greeks  never  could  forgive  or  forget  the  insult 
and  the  wrong  done  them  by  this  imposing  though  futile  invasion 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  XI.  417 

by  Xerxes.  Alexander  became  at  length  (after  altont  one  hundred 
and  fifty  years)  God's  instrument  to  avenge  it.  i'ropliecy,  there- 
fore, leaps  over  the  intervening  events  as  not  to  its  })urpose,  and 
strikes  next  on  this  great  conqueror  of  the  decayed  and  cllete  Per- 
sian empire.  "A  mighty  king  stands  up,  ruling  with  great  domin- 
ion and  doing  according  to  his  will."  Who  could,  tell  the  history 
of  Alexander  in  fewer  or  more  forcible  words?  When  he  had 
gained  this  standing,  and  his  great  empire  seemed  established  for 
all  time,  it  is  suddenly  broken  by  his  death.  It  is  then  "  divided 
toward  the  four  winds  of  heaven,"  as  we  have  seen  (chap.  8 :  8), 
"but  not  to  his  posterity"  (not  a  son  of  his  ever  gained  any  stand- 
ing); "not  according  to  the  dominion  which  he  ruled,"  but  on  en- 
tirely other  principles,  and  in  a  manner  altogether  foreign  from 
any  plan  or  wish  of  his.  His  kingdom  was  plucked  up  and  torn 
into  fragments  for  others  to  enjoy  besides  his  own  family.  All 
this  is  a  condensed  but  accurate  epitome  of  the  history  of  those 
times,  of  which  the  part  relating  to  Xerxes  has  been  given  with 
great  minuteness  by  Herodotus  and  others;  the  part  borne  by  Al- 
exander, by  Arrian,  Plutarch  and  Diodorus. 

5.  And  the  king  of  the  south  shall  be  strong,  and  one  of 
his  princes;  and  he  shall  be  strong  above  him,  and  have 
dominion;  his  dominion  shall  he  a  great  dominion. 

Here  begins  a  rapid  sketch  of  the  rise  of  the  two  kingdoms, 
Egypt  and  Syria,  glancing  at  the  wars,  intrigues,  treaties,  and  per- 
fidies that  fill  the  interval  down  to  Antiochus  Epiphanes  in  v.  21. 
it  is  remarkable  that  all  the  commentators  of  any  celebrity  concur 
precisely  in  their  interpretation  of  these  verses.  They  find  the 
same  kings,  give  them  the  same  names,  give  the  same  sense  to  the 
prophecy,  and  find  the  same  historic  facts  for  its  fulfillment.  Henco 
there  is  little  occasion  for  me  to  go  minutely  into  arguments  for 
the  defense  of  the  interpretation  given   so   harmoniously- to  this 

portion  of  the  chapter. This  fifth  verse  introduces  the  two  kings 

who  respectively  founded  the  new  kingdoms  of  Egypt  on  the  south 
and  Syria  on  the  north.  The  king  of  the  south  is  Ptolemy  Lagus, 
said  by  Jerome  to  be  a  man  of  very  great  wisdom,  bravery,  wealth, 
and  power.  He  was  one  of  Alexander's  generals.  He  founded  his 
kingdom  of  Egypt  13.  C.  323. The  last  clause  of  the  verse  un- 
questionably means,  "but  this  one  {I.  <?.,  another)  shall  be  stronger 
than  he  and  shall  have  dominion,  and  his  shall  be  a  great  domin- 
ion." This  more  powerful  monarch  is  Seleucus  Nicator,  who 
founded  the  Syrian  kingdom  13.  C.  312.  His  kingdom  was  indeed 
very  powerful,  embracing  almost  all  that  Alexander  ever  held  in 
Asia.  The  angel  uses  the  same  language  to  describe  his  greatness 
as  that  of  Alexander.  Each  has  great  dominion.  See  notes  on 
Dan.  7:  p.  358.  ♦ 

6.  And  in  the  end  of  years  they  shall  join  themselves 
together;  for  the  king's  daughter  of  the  south  shall  come 


•418  DANIEL.— CHAP.  XI. 

to  the  king  of  the  north  to  make  an  agreement:  but  she 
shall  not  retain  the  power  of  the  arm :  neither  shall  he 
stand,  nor  his  arm:  but  she  shall  be  given  up,  and  they 
that  brought  her,  and  he  that  begat  her,  and  he  that 
strengthened  her  in  these  times. 

"In  the  end  of  years"  indicates  a  considerable  interval  be- 
tween these  transactions  and  the  founding  of  the  two  kingdoms  as 
stated  in  the  fifth  verse.  Ptolemy  reigned  thirty-nine  years;  Scleu- 
cus  thirty-two.  We  pass  over  these  reigns;  also  the  entire  reign 
of  the  next  Syrian  king,  Antiochus  Soter  (twenty  years)  into  the 
latter  part  of  the  reign  of  his  successor,  Antiochus  Theos,  who 
reigned  fifteen  years.  This  Theos,  after  long  and  fruitless  wars 
with  his  Egyptian  rjval,  Ptolemy  Philadeiphus,  at  last  patched  up 
a  compromise  ("they  joined  themselves  to<2;ether"),  which    being 

utterly  iniquitous,  could  not  stand. The  historical  facts  are  these: 

lie  divorced  his  own  wife,  Laodice,  and  married  Berenice,  daughter 
of  Philadeiphus.  Two  years  after,  Philadeiphus,  now  aged,  died. 
Theos  soon  divorced  his  Egyptian  wife  and  restored  his  Syrian. 
Put  the  latter  had  lost  confidence  in  her  husband,  and,  stung  by 
his  abuse,  took  him  ofi"  by  poison.  She  then  secured  the  kingdom 
for  her  own  son,  Seleucus  Callinicus,  who  managed  to  murder  his 
mother's  rival,  Berenice,  with  her  son  and  servants.  Thus  the 
compromise  availed  only  to  the  ruin  of  both  the  guilty  parties  to 
this  infiimous  marriage.  Neither  of  them  "  retained  the  power  of 
the  arm,"  the  military  power,  not  even  to  the  extent  of  self-pro- 
tection. 

7.  But  out  of  a  branch  of  her  roots  shall  one  stand  up 
in  his  estate,  which  shall  come  with  an  army,  and  shall 
enter  into  the  fortress  of  the  king  of  the  north,  and  shall 
deal  against  them,  and  shall  prevail : 

8.  And  shall  also  carry  captives  into  Egypt  their  gods, 
with  their  princes,  and  with  their  precious  vessels  of  silver 
and  of  gold :  and  he  shall  continue  more  years  than  the 
king  of  the  north. 

9.  So  the  king  of  the  south  shall  come  into  Ids  kingdom, 
and  shall  return  into  his  own  land. 

Here  arc  tlie  exploits  of  the  third  Ptolemy,  brother  of  Berenice ; 
"  one  out  of  the  branch  of  her  roots,"  in  the  sense  of  being  from 
the  same  parentage,  lie  gained  great  victories  over  Seleucus  Cal- 
linicus, the  fourth  Syrian  king;  swept  over  the  great  eastern  por- 
tion of  the  Syrian  kingdom ;  took  immense  spoil,  not  less  than  forty 
thousand  talents  of  silver,  and,  among  the  rest,  recovered  and  took 
back  into  E,tf;ypt  tWenty-tive  hundred  idols,  most  of  which  Cambyses 
had  carried  from  Egypt  into  Persia  nearly  three  hundred  years 
before.  Vox-  this  service  especially  the  Egyptians  honored  him 
with  the  -title,  "  Eucrgetes,"  the   Henefactor.      He  reigned  twenty- 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  XL  419 

live  years;  his  rival  but  twenty.     He  thus  "continued  more  years 

than  the  king  of  the  north." In  v.  9,  it  seems  better  to  modify 

the  translation,  placing  the  phrase,  "king  of  the  south,"  imme- 
diately after  "kingdom  of,"  as  in  the  original;  thus;  "Then  he" 
(the  king  of  the  north  just  before  spoken  of)  "marched  into  the 
kingdom  of  the  king  of  the  south,  but  was  compelled  to  return" 
defeated  "into  his  own  land."  The  sense  is  better  so,  since  there 
was  no  occasion  to  say  that  the  king  of  the  south,  after  his  suc- 
cessful expedition,  recorded  vs.  7,  8,  returned  home  again.  What 
else  should  he  do?  Moreover,  by  the  reading  I  suggest,  the  rela- 
tion of  the  pronouns  to  their  antecedents  is  more  easy,  in  the  com- 
mencement of  both  V.  9  and  v.  10.  The  king  of  the  north  named 
in  the  end  of  v.  8  is  he  that  comes  into  the  kingdom  of  the  king 
of  the  south  with  a  vain  effort  to  retrieve  his  losses;  and  "  his  sons  " 
(v.  10)  are  the  sons  of  this  Syrian  king,  Scleucus  Callinicus,  who 

was  compelled  to  return  with  shame  to  his  own  land. My  brief 

comments  on  vs.  10-19  may  best  take  the  form,  for  the  most  part, 
of  a  paraphrase. 

10.  But  his  sons  shall  be  stirred  iij^,  and  shall  assemble 
a  multitude  of  great  forces :  and  one  shall  certainly  come, 
and  overflow,  and  pass  through :  then  shall  he  return,  and 
be  stirred  up,  even  to  his  fortress. 

These  are  the  two  sons  of  Seleucus  Callinicus,  viz.,  Scleucus 
Ceraunus,  who  reigned  two  years,  and  Antiochus  the  Great,  who 
reigned  thirty-seven.  They  arouse  themselves  to  prodigious  efforts 
and  raise  a  vast  army.  Ceraunus  soon  dies,  and  leaves  Antiochus 
to  prosecute  these  plans.  He  shall  certainly  come  and  sweep  like 
a  flood  and  pass  through  the  countries  of  Western  Asia  toward 
Egypt.  He  shall  make  a  second  expedition  ("return  again") — the 
first  being  that  of  v.  9,  and  shall  push  the  war  even  to  the  fortress 
which  was  the  key  to  that  kingdom. 

11.  And  the  king  of  the  south  shall  be  moved  with 
choler,  and  shall  come  forth  and  fight  with  him,  even  with 
the  king  of  the  north :  and  he  shall  set  forth  a  great  multi- 
tude ;  but  the  multitude  shall  be  given  into  his  hand. 

Then  the  king  of  the  south,  Ptolemy  Philopator,  greatly  exasper- 
ated, rouses  himself  from  his  volu2:)tuous  lethargy,  and  comes  forth 
to  fight  with  Antiochus  the  Great,  the  king  of  the  north ;  and  though 
this  king  of  the  north  had  brought  into  tlie  fiolrl  an  immense  army, 
yet  in  a  great  battle  at  Kaphia,  near  (Jaza  (B.  .C.  217),  he  was 
utterly  defeated,  and  the  power  passed  into  the  hands  of  Philopa- 
tor, king  of  Egypt. 

12.  And  when  he  hath  taken  away  the  multitude,  his 
heart  shall  be  lifted  up;  and  he  shall  cast  down  many 
ten  thousands :  but  he  shall  not  be  strengthened  hy  it 


420  DANIEL.— CHAP.  XL 

By  this  great  victory  his  heart  is  elated;  he  casts  down  many; 
but  is  not  permanently  strengthened  by  it. 

13.  For  tlie  king  of  the  north  shall  return,  and  shall  set 
forth  a  multitude  greater  than  the  former,  and  shall  cer- 
tainly come  after  certain  years  with  a  great  army  and  with 
much  riches. 

For  the  king  of  the  north,  Antiochus  the  Great,  raises  a  greater 
army  than  his  former  one,  and  comes  again  with  great  resources 
for  war. 

14.  And  in  those  times  there  shall  many  stand  up  against 
the  king  of  the  south :  also  the  robbers  of  thy  people  shall 
exalt  themselves  to  establish  the  vision;  but  they  shall 
fall. 

Philopator,  the  miserably  effeminate  and  dissolute  king,  dies 
(1>.  C.  204),  leaving  as  the  heir  to  his  throne,  his  son  Ptolemy 
Epiphancs,  but  five  years  old;  whereupon  Philip  of  Macedon,  a 
poAverful  monarch,  makes  alliance  with  Antiochus  against  Egypt. 

"  Many  shall  stand  np  against  the  king  of  the  south."    Violent 

men  from  among  the  people  (the  Jcavs)  arouse  themselves  to  cast 
oif  the  Egy])tian  yoke.  In  fact,  they  only  established  the  vision, 
for  their  object  entirely  failed;  they  only  brought  on  themselves 
disaster. 

*  15.  So  the  king  of  the  north  shall  come,  and  cast  up  a 
mount,  and  take  the  most  fenced  cities:  and  the  arms  of 
the  south  shall  not  withstand,  neither  his  chosen  people, 
neither  shall  there  he  any  strength  to  withstand. 

Antiochus  of  the  north  successfully  besieged  Zidon,  Gaza,  and 
other  strong  cities.  The  arms  of  Egypt  could  not  stand  before 
him. 

16.  But  he  that  cometh  against  him  shall  do  according  to 
his  own  will,  and  none  shall  stand  before  him  :  and  he  shall 
stand  in  the  glorious  land,  which  by  his  hand  shall  be  con- 
sumed. 

The  assailing  party,  still  Antiochus  the  Great,  coming  against 
his  feeble  opponent  of  Egypt,  shall  do  according  to  his  own  will 
and  none  shall  stand  before  him.  lie  o]>tains  footing  even  in  Pal- 
estine, "the  glory  of  all  lands,"  which  under  his  power  is  fearfully 
wasted,  lie  was  obliged  to  ^pend  a  long  time  in  besieging  »Ieru- 
salem,  to  wrest  it  from  the  Egyptian  power,  subsisting  his  army 
meanwhile  on  Palestine,  and  thus  wasting  its  supplies. 

17.  He  shall  also  set  his  face  to  enter  with  the  strength 
of  his  whole  kingdom,  and  upright  ones  with  him;    thus 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  XI.  421 

shall  lie  do :  and  lie  shall  give  him  the  daughter  of  ■svomen, 
corrupting  her :  but  she  shall  not  stand  on  his  side,  neither 
be  for  him. 

He  sets  himself  with  resolute  purpose  and  with  all  his  strength 
to  invade  Egypt;  the  Jews,  even  the  better  class,  the  "upright 
ones,"  with  him;  but  the  Komans  intervene  to  frustrate  his  plans. 
He  makes  a  treaty  with  Ptolemy  and  gives  him  his  own  daughter, 
Cleopatra,  in  marriage,  with  the  provinces  of  Phenicia  as  her  dower 
and  hoping  that  she  would  subserve  his  interests.  His  eflbrts  to 
"corrupt  her"  to  play  into  his  hands  and  prove  false  to  her  hus- 
band were  unsuccessful.  She  abandoned  her  father's  cause,  was 
true  to  her  husband,  and  hence  "did  not  stand  on  his  (her  father's) 
side,  nor  be  for  him." 

18.  After  this  shall  he  turn  his  face  unto  the  isles,  and 
shall  take  many :  but  a  prince  for  his  own  behalf  shall  cause 
the  reproach  offered  by  him  to  cease;  without  his  own  re- 
proach he  shall  cause  it  to  turn  upon  him. 

Then  to  meet  the  Romans  to  better  advantage,  Antiochus  the 
Great  carried  the  war  into  Greece;  took  several  of  the  Grecian 
islands;  but  the  Roman  Prince  gained  a  great  victory  over  him  at 
Thermopylee  (B.  C.  191),  and  another  final  one  at  Magnesia  in 
Lydia  (B.  C.  190),  which  completely  broke  down  the  power  of  An- 
tiochus the  Great.  The  glory  of  his  former  achievements  was 
turned  into  reproach.  The  Roman  armies  had  no  reverses;  with 
no  reproaches  on  themselves,  they  turned  all  reproach  upon  the 
vanquished  Syrian  king. 

19.  Then  he  shall  turn  his  face  toward  the  fort  of  his 
ow^n  land :  but  he  shall  stumble  and  fall,  and  not  be  found. 

Compelled  to  relinquish  all  his  possessions  West  of  Mt.  Taurus, 
and  to  pay  the  entire  expenses  of  the  war,  Antiochus  found  him- 
self amerced  in  fifteen  thousand  talents,  of  which  a  large  portion 
was  by  installments  of  one  thousand  per  annum — completely  ex- 
hausting his  finances,  subjecting  his  kingdom  to  immense  taxes 
and  putting  him  upon  that  raid  into  Elymais  for  pillage  which  cost 
him  his  life.  In  an  attempt  to  plunder  a  rich  temple  he  was  re- 
sisted by  the  exasperated  people  and  slain.  Some  of  the  ancient 
historians,  however,  assert  that  he  was  slain  by  his  own  men  in  a 
drunken  carousal.  If  so,  the  "vile"  king — the  little  horn  of  chap- 
ters 7  and  8,  may  have  had  some  agency  in  "  plucking  him  up  by 
the   roots"  and   causing  him  to  "fall."     See   notes  on  the  three 

kings,  removed  'before  the  little  horn-king,  page  36G. This  rapid 

sketch  of  Antiochus  the  Great  (vs.  10-19),  is  drawn  so  accurately 
that  commentators  have  almost  universally  agreed  in  the  main  as 
to  its  exposition  and  application  to  all  the  points  of  his  eventful 
history.  The  revealing  angel  was  in  fact  lurltlag  history  more  than 
three  hundred  years  before  its  time. 


422  DANIEL.— CHAP.  XI. 

» 

20.  Then  shall  stand  up  in  his  estate  a  raiser  of  taxes  in 
the  glory  of  the  kingdom :  but  within  few  days  he  shall  be 
destroyed,  neither  in  anger,  nor  in  battle. 

"In  his  estate,"  means,  in  his  place  as  king;  upon  his  throne, 
or  in  his  stead.  -"A  raiser  of  taxes  in  the  glory  of  his  kini^dom," 
would  be  more  closely  and  better  rendered;  "One  who  will  send 
tax-gatherers  over  all  the  glory,  i.  e.,  wealth,  of  his  kingdom;"  one 
whose  great  work  as  a  king  will  be  to  raise  taxes  to  pay  the  enor- 
mous sum  of  a  thousand  talents  per  year,  pledged  to  the  Romans. 
This  was  Seleucus  Philopator,  eldest  son  of  Antiochus  the  Great, 
and  heix  to  his  throne.  His  reign  of  eleven  years  ended  with  his 
sudden  death  by  poison  at  the  hand  of  Heliodorus ;  his  chief  tax- 
gatherer,  "neither  in  anger  nor  in  battle,"  but  under  the  promptings 
of  ambition  to  mount  the  throne. We  have  now  reached  Anti- 
ochus Epiphanes  in  the  regular  line  of  kings  as  sketched  in  this  his- 
toric prophecy.  Let  us  pause  here  a  moment  to  note  the  very  extra- 
ordinary character  of  this  sketch  of  history  given  as  prophecy 
throughout  this  -chapter  thus  far  (vs.  2-20).  While  it  must  be  ad- 
mitted that  without  the  help  of  the  actual  history  to  guide  us,  some 
few  passages  would  be  rather  obscure,  yet  this  obscurity  is  due  to 
its  brevity;  and  even  this  quite  disappears  the  moment  you  sup- 
pose a  tolerably  fair  acquaintance  with  the  outlines  of  the  history 
in  question.  But  such  a  case  of  history  written  out  so  definitely ; 
history  and  nothing  else ;  history  with  no  hint  at  the  moral  purpose 
in  view — is  without  a  parallel  elsewhere  in  the  Scriptures.  It  is 
not  strange  that-  it  should  appear  very  extraordinary ; — perhaps  I 
might  safely  say,  it  is  not  strange  that  it  should  suggest  the  inquiry 
whether  its  date  is  really  antecedent  to  the  events  narrated;  in 
other  words,  whether  it  is  real  prophecy.  But  this  investigation 
brings  back  no  reason  for  a  doubt.  It  only  certifies  us  the  more 
that  Daniel  had  this  vision  when  the  book  claims,  viz.,  in  the  third 

year  of  Cyrus,  and  that  it  is  all  real  prophecy. Hence  we  fall 

back  upon  the  question.  What  can  be  the  object  of  such  a  proph- 
ecy, put  in  this  straight-forward,  purely  historic  form  ? My  an- 
swer is  ready.  This  entire  vision  is  parallel  (as  will  bo  shown  in 
its  place)  to  chap.  7,  and  this  portion  of  it  corresponds  to  the  fourth 
beast  of  that  vision,  "  dreadful,  terrible,  and  strong  exceedingly, 
with  great  iron  teeth,  devouring,  breaking  ip  pieces,  and  stamping 
the  residue  with  his  feet."  What  is  the  outcome  of  this  historic 
prophecy,  beginning  with  Xerxes  and  ending  with  Seleucus  Philo- 
put«u*  who  made  tax-gatherers  pass  over  and  consume  the  glory  of 
his  kingdom?  What  are  the  achievements  of  Xerxes,  Alexander, 
Seleucus  Xicator,  Antiochus  the  Great,  and  all  the  rest,  but  the 
robbery  and  murder  of  millions  of  human  beings ;  wars,  unceasing 
wars,  continued  through  scores  of  years  and  even  centuries,  with 
untold  slaughter  and  no  offset  of  resulting  good; — and  not  wars 
alone,  but  treacheries,  bad  faith,  treaties  made  only  to  be  broken; 
compromises  all  iniquitous;  divorces;  deceptions;  taxations;  the 
waste  and  destruction  of  human  sustenance;   poverty,  unpaid  toil, 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  XL  423 

wretchedness,  and  starvation,  and  all  with  not  the  least  resulting 
good?  This  is  human  depravity  working  out  its  legitimate  fruits 
of  crime  and  woe.  It  is  a  huge  nondescript  but  horrible  wild  beast, 
"dreadful,  terrible,  and  strong,"  let  loose  among  masses  of  living 
men,  women  and  children,  to  make  his  utmost  havoc  in  their  flesh 
and  blood.  If  we  could  gather  the  statistics  of  the  human  lives  cut 
ofl'  in  those  centuries  of  war,  and  could  add  to  that  sum  all  the  in- 
cidental waste  of  life  and  treasure,  the  sum  would  appal  us ! 

And  will  it  still  be  asked,  To  what  end  is  all  this  portrayed  in  this 
historic  prophecy  ?  The  answer  is  that,  in  chap.  7,  as  that  fourth 
beast  and  kingdom  stand  next  before  the  fifth,  so  they  stand  in  tacit 
yet  strong  and  palpable  antithesis  with  it.  Things  are  seen  better 
in  the  light  of  contrast.  Here  is  the  rule  and  sway  of  human  am- 
bition over  against  the  rule  and  sway  of  the  gospel  kingdom  of 
peace  and  love.  It  is  war  and  ruin  set  off  in  contrast  against  uni- 
versal peace  and  blessedness. ^And  this  historico-prophetic  sketch 

given  by  the  revealing  angel  to  Daniel  and  to  us  in  chap.  11 :  2-20, 
was  intended  to  set  before  us  with  considerable  detail  the  real  sig- 
fiificance  of  that  fourth  beast  and  his  ten  horns,  so  dreadful  and 
terrible  to  the  weal  of  mankind.  As  already  said,  it  expresses  in 
words  what  Dan.  7 :  7-27,  sets  forth  in  symbols.  The  nondescript 
but  dreadful  wild  beast  there  becomes  the  historic  record  of  war, 
crime,  and  death  here.    That  is  a  symbolic  scene  given  in  prophetic 

vision  ;  this  is  really  its  inspired  explanation. Yet  further  as  to 

the  purpose  and  the  bearing  of  this  delineation  of  the  fourth  beast. 
Its  horrid  ravages  on  human  well-being  are  not  only  designed  to 
stand  in  contrast  with  the  next  succeeding  kingdom,  one  of  univer- 
sal peace  and  love,  but  also  to  indicate  the  reasons  why  God  brought 
down  on  that  fourth  beast  a  doom  so  dire  and  so  completely  ex- 
terminating. When  God  sweeps  a  cluster  and  a  series  of  great  na- 
tions into  utter  destruction,  it  is  well  that  he  should  indicate  clearly 
why  he  does  it.  This  is  a  case  of  the  sort.  From  the  age  of  Nim- 
rod  to  the  fsill  of  the  Greek,  Syrian,  and  Egyptian  kingdoms,  the 
great  empires  of  the  world  lay  in  Western  Asia  and  North-eastern 
Africa,  for  the  most  part  making  their  centers  of  poAver  in  the  val- 
leys of  the  Euphrates,  the  Orontes,  and  the  Nile.  In  the  age  of 
Daniel,  the  Great  Assyrian  empire  had  recently  passed  away.  His 
merely  human  eye  saw  both  the  rise  and  the  fall  of  Chaldea ;  and 
the  rise  of  Medo-Persia.  With  the  eye  of  an  inspired  seer,  he 
looked  through  to  the  end  of  this  marvelous  series  of  world-mon- 
archies— the  Mcdo-Persian ;  the  Greek  empire  of  Alexander,  and  its 
cleft  fragments  under  his  Greek  successors.  Those  nationalities, 
long  time  so  magnificent,  so  proud,  so  mighty,  so  cruel,  so  trul;f  tho 
terror  and  the  scourge  of  mankind,  are  now  to  bo  utterly  wiped  out 
from  the  face  of  the  earth  and  their  succession  to  cease  forever. 
AVIiy  should  not  the  justice  of  God  in  this4"earful  scene  of  retribu- 
tion be  amply  vindicated  ?  Why  should  not  the  visions  of  prophecy 
Avhich  foretold  this  doom  set  forth  also  the  catalogue  of  appalling 
crimes  which  preceded  and  demanded  this  fall  of  the  great  Asiatic 
sovereignties,  never  to  rise  again?- Hence  this  ample  unfolding 


424  DANIEL.— CHAP.  XL 

of  the  long,  bLack  record  of  their  crimes.  They  culminated  in  those 
scenes  of  artful  treachery,  mad  persecution,  and  terrible  slaughter 
of  (jod's  own  people  -which  have  consigned  to  infamy  and  abhor- 
rence the  name  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes. 

21.  And  in  his  estate  shall  stand  up  a  vile  person,  to 
whom  they  shall  not  give  the  honor  of  the  kingdom :  but 
he  shall  <;ome  in  peaceably,  and  obtain  tlie  kingdom  by 
flatteries. 

Here  we  arrive  at  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  in  his  place  in  the  line 
of  Syrian  monarchs,  and,  as  here  described,  meeting  all  the  great 

facts  recorded  of  him  in  history. lie  comes  "into  the  estate" 

of  his  elder  brother,  who  had  preceded  him.  He  is  "a  vile  per- 
son," fit  only  to  be  despised,  despicable,  for  so  the  original  imports. 

"  To  whom  they  shall  not  give  the  honor  of  the  kingdom."    It 

was  not  his  by  established  right  of  succession,  but  belonged  to  the 
eldest  son  of  his  deceased  brother,  just  previously  sent  to  Kome  to 
take  his  place  and  release  him  after  thirteen  years  of  hostage  life 
in  the  Eoman  capital.  Hence  those  whose  business  it  was  to  see 
that  the  succession  was  determined  according  to  usage  could  not 
give  to  him  the  honor  of  the  kingdom.  He  ''came  in  peaceably 
and  obtained  it  by  flatteries."  He  was  at  Athens,  on  his  way  home 
from  llome,  when  he  heard  of  the  death  of  his  brother,  and  in- 
stantly laid  his  plans*  to  obtain  the  kingdom  for  himself.  '  He 
forthwith  secured  the  aid  of  Eumenes,  king  of  Pergamos,  and  of 
his  brother  Attains,  and  with  this  help  expelled  Heliodorus  and 

gained  the  crown. This  king  was  preeminently  "a  vile  person" 

— vile,  both  in  the  sense  of  being  wicked,  and  in  the  sense  of  be- 
ing mean  and  despicable.  So  far  from  deserving  his  surname, 
Epiphanes,  the  Illustrious,  his  merits  seemed  to  justify  the  slight 
change  of  his  name,  which  reversed  its  meaning,  "  Epimanes,  the 
madman.  He  had  a  low  passion  for  aping  the  foolish  things  he 
had  seen  at  Kome.  He  seemed  to  delight  in  playing  the  buffoon, 
in  getting  half  drunk,  and  then  putting  himself  below  the  common 
level  of  even  tipsy,  silly  drunkards.  It  is  hard  to  believe  that  a 
king  would  rise  from  his  dinner-table,  heated  with  wine,  strip  him- 
self utterly  naked,  and  dance  round  the  hall  as  one  frantic,  with 
the  lowest  comedians.  History  can  scarcely  produce  another  like 
case  of  a  man  wearing  a  crown  who  debased  himself  so  low,  and 
made  himself  so  vile  as  this  same  Antiochus  Epipliancs. 

22.  And  witli  the  arms  of  a  Hood  shall  they  be  overflown 
frorti  before  him,  and  shall  be  broken ;  yea,  also  the  prince 
of  the  covenant. 

The  human  arm  i»  a, favorite  figure  with  Daniel  for  an  army  and 
its  military  power.  The  sweep  of  such  a  host  is  also  with  him  often 
an  inundation.  It  "overflows,"  bearing  down  and  breaking  away  all 
before  it.  So  here.  Though  Antiochus  began  with  flatteries  and 
a  pacific  bearing,  yet  as  soon  as  the  scepter  was  fairly  in  his  grasp, 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  XI.  425 

he  was  not  slow  to  create  an  armed  force  and  to  wield  it  with  cn- 

er<;y. "The  prince  of  the  covenant"  can  he  no  other  here  than 

the  High  Priest  Onias — a  most  excellent  and  venerable  man,  who, 
after  withstanding  the  current  of  popular  sentiment  toward  Grecian 
life  and  idolatry,  fell  before  the  machinations  of  his  apostate  coun- 
trymen. 

23.  And  after  the  league  made  with  him  he  shall  Avork 
deceitfully:  for  lie  shall  come  up,  and  shall  become  strong 
with  a  small  people. 

Continuing  the  same  subject,  this  historic  prophet  touches  the 
league  made  between  Antiochus  and  the  apostate  Jew  whom  he 
constituted  High-priest  in  place  of  the  good  Onias,  and  who  took 
the  Grecian  name  of  Jason.  This  Jason  promised  to  pay  Antiochus 
large  sums  for  his  aid  in  obtaining  the  high-priesthood  and  for  li- 
cense to  set  up  a  Grecian  gymnasium  in  Jerusalem  and  to  institute 
the  Grecian  idolatrous  rites  associated  with  it.  For  tliree  years  (1>. 
C.  175-172)  he  labored  assiduously  to  seduce  the  Jews  into  the 
(xrecian  life  and  religion.  At  length  he  sent  his  younger  brother, 
Menelaus,  to  carry  to  Antiochus  the  money  he  had  promised  for 
his  high-priesthood,  when  both  Menelaus  and  Antiochus  "  worked 
deceitfully;"  the  former,  bidding  higher  for  the  priesthood  than  his 
brother  had  done,  the  latter  repudiated  his  previous  contract  with 
Jason  and  gave  the  priesthood  to  him.  Thus  Antiochus  gained  a 
foothold  in  Judea  and  l)ecame  strong,  though  commencing  ''with  a 

small  people." This  kingdom  of  Syria  had  been  greatly  reduced 

in  territory  and  also  exhausted  in  its  finances  during  the  two  pre- 
vious reigns.  Hence  the  frequent  allusions  to  the  small  beginnings 
of  this  little  horn-king. 

24.  He  shall  enter  peaceably  even  upon  the  fattest  j)lace3 
of  the  province;  and  he  shall  do  that  which  his  fathers 
have  not  done,  nor  his  fathers'  fathers ;  he  shall  scatter 
among  them  the  prey,  and  spoil,  and  riches :  yea,  and  he 
shall  forecast  his  devices  against  the  strongholds,  even  for 
a  time. 

This  verse  is  thought  to  refer  to  an  expedition  into  Armenia,  a 
kingdom  adjacent  on  the  north,  whose  king,  Artaxias,  Antiochus 
took  captive.  There  he  found  rich  booty  and  scattered  it  profusely 
to  whom  he  would,  for  few  kings  have  surpassed  him  in  the  prodi- 
gality with  which  he  scattered  his  largesses  of  money  upon  cities 
or  individuals,  as  the  Cjiprice  might  take  him,  apparently  with  no 
other  motive  than  the  silly  ambition  of  being  more  liberal  than  any 
king  ever  was  before  him.  This  was  a  brief  expedition,  only  "  for 
a  time." 

25.  And  he  shall  stir  up  his  power  and  his  courage 
against  the  king  of  the  south  with  a  great  army ;  and  the 
king  of  the  south  shall  be  stirred  up  to  battle  with  a  very 


426  DANIEL.— CHAP.  XI. 

great  and  mighty  army;  but  he  shall  not  stand:  for  they 
shall  forecast  devices  against  him. 

26.  Yea,  they  that  feed  of  the  portion  of  his  meat  shall 
destroy  him,  and  his  army  shall  overflow :  and  many  shall 
fall  down  slain. 

27.  And  both  these  kings'  hearts  shall  he  to  do  mischief, 
and  they  shall  speak  lies  at  one  table;  but  it  shall  not 
prosper:  for  yet  the  end  shall  he  at  the  time  appointed. 

Here  begins  the  prophetic  record  of  the  military  expeditions  of 
Antiochus  into  Egypt,  of  which  history  gives  account  of  at  least 
four  in  as  many  successive  years,  B.  C.  170-1G7.  The  first  was 
short,  involving  but  one  great  battle,  the  victory  with  Antiochus, 
after  which  he  wintered  at  Tyre,  and  marched  on  Egypt  again 
early  in  the  ensuing  spring.  In  this  campaign  he  practically  sub- 
jugated the  whole  country;  became  the  nominal  protector  of  the 
young  king,  Ptolemy  Philometor;  had  precisely  those  intrigues 
with  him  which  v.  27  describes — both  kings'  hearts,  being  set  on 
mischief,  and  both  speaking  lies  to  one  another  at  one  table ;  yet 
in  neither  case  availing  to  frustrate  the  great  results  which  God  in 
his  providence  had  in  view,  "  for  yet  the  end  would  surely  be  at 
the  time  appointed."  The  Egyptian  king  was  young  and  was  im- 
becile even  for  his  youth.  He  was  formally  inaugurated  at  the  age 
of  fourteen;  had  been  kept  in  ignorance  and  inefficiency  by  the 
artful  management  of  his  tutors,  who  loved  and  sought  to  retain 
the  regal  power  which  his  minority  and  incompetence  gave  them, 
"They  that  fed  of  the  portion  of  his  meat  destroyed  him."      So 

closely  does  the  prophetic  description  fit  the  historic  facts. In 

v.  26  it  is  the  army  of  Antiochus  that  "overflows"  victoriously, 
and  many  of  his  Egyptian  foes  fall  down,  slain. 

28.  Then  shall  he  return  into  his  land  with  great  riches ; 
and  his  heart  shall  he  against  the  holy  covenant;  and  he 
shall  do  exploits,  and  return  to  his  own  land. 

It  was  in  June,  B.  C.  169,  that  An,tiochus,  having  been  entirely 
successful  in  Egypt,  returned  toward  his  own  land  with  great 
riches.  His  return  was  hastened  by  a  report  that  all  Judea  had 
risen  in  revolt  from  his  authority.  A  rumor  had  reached  Jerusa- 
lem that  Antiochus  was  dead.  Some  public  manifestations  of  joy 
ensued,  which  being  reported  to  Antiochus  with  no  little  exaggera- 
tion, greatly  exasperated  him  against  the  Jews.  He  hastened  back 
with  his  victorious  army  and  at  once  assailed  and  took  Jerusalem. 
Of  this  terrific  onslaught,  the  author  of  2  Mac.  says  (5:  11-16); 
"Removing  out  of  Egypt  in  a  furious  mind,  he  took  .the  city  by 
force  of  arms,  and  commanded  his  men  of  war  not  to  spare  such 
as  they  met  and  to  slay  such  as  went  up  upon  the  houses.  Thus 
there  was  killing  of  young  and  old,  making  away  of  men,  women 
and  children,  slaying  of  virgins  and  infants.  And  there  were 
destroyed  within  three  whole  days  four-score  thousand,  whereof 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  XL  427 

forty  thousand  were  slain  in  the  conflict;  and  no  fewer  sold  than 
slain.  Yet  was  he  not  content  with  this,  but  presumed  to  go  into 
the  most  holy  temple  of  all  the  world,  Menclaus,  that  traitor  to  the 
laws  and  to  his  own  country,  being  his  guide ;  and  taking  the  holy 
vessels  with  polluted  hands,  and  with  profane  hands  pulling  down 
the  things  that  were  dedicated  by  other  kings  to  the  augmentation 
and  glory  and  honor  of  the  place,  he  gave  "them  away,*'  In  this 
scene  of  pillage  and  sacrilege,  Antiochus  found  and  took  away 
from  the  temple  eighteen  hundred  talents  of  gold,  and  then  offered 
swine's  flesh  on  the  altar  and  sprinkled  the  whole  temple  with  the 
broth  of  this  flesh.  These  things  exasperated  the  Jews  against 
him  exceedingly.  They  could  regard  him  only  as  a  monster  of 
cruelty  and  wickedness.  After  these  exploits,  he  returned  to  his 
own  land. 

29.  At  the  time  appointed  he  shall  return,  and  come  to- 
ward the  south ;  but  it  shall  not  be  as  the  former,  or  as  the 
latter. 

30.  For  the  ships  of  Chittim  shall  come  against  him: 
therefore  he  shall  be  grieved,  and  return,  and  have  indigna- 
tion against  the  holy  covenant :  so  shall  he  do ;  he  shall 
even  return,  and  have  intelligence  with  them  that  forsake 
the  holy  covenant. 

The  third  expedition  of  Antiochus  into  Egypt  (B.  C.  1G8)  is  not 
distinctly  referred  to,  having  in  it  nothing  "that  specially  affected, 
the  fortunes  of  the  Jews.  He  went  there  to  depose  Physcon,  the 
younger  brother  of  Philometor,  his  protege — the  Egyptians  having 
raised  him  to  power  because  Philometor  was  practically  under  the 
absolute  control  of  Antiochus.  He  defeated  the  army  of  Physcon 
in  battle.  Physcon  and  his  party  sought  help  from  the  Komans. 
The  next  year  (B.  C.  167)  Antiochus  made  his  fourth  expedi- 
tion into  Egypt,  of  which  these  verses  give  the  substance.  The 
last  clause  of  v.  29  means  that  this  last  expedition  was  not,  like  all 
his  former,  successful.  "Not  as  the  former,  so  is  the  latter."  The 
reason  of  his  failure  was  the  intervention  of  the  powerful  Romans. 

Chittim,  in  its  more  restricted  sense,  is  a  town  on  the  island 

of  Cyprus,  or  the  island  itself;  but  in  its^  larger  sense,  was  used 
for  the  northern  and  eastern  islands  and  coasts  of  the  Mediterra- 
nean, including  Greece  and  Rome.  There  is  no  doubt  that  Rome 
is  meant  here.     So  Josephus  and  numerous  other  authorities  affirm. 

An  embassy  of  three  men  from  the  Roman  Senate  met  him 

just  as  he  was  about  to  lay  siege  to  Alexandria;  told,him  they  had 
taken  young  Physcon  under  their  protection,  and  that  he  must  de- 
sist or  have  war  with  Rome.  Antiochus  indicating  a  wish  to  pro- 
crastinate, Topilius  drew  a  circle  in  the  sand  about  his  feet  and 
said,  "Give  me  an  answer  before  you  cross  that  circle."  He 
yielded,  and  pledged  himself  to  do  all  the  Senate  should  require. 
He  dared  not  X)ffend  the  Roman  power.  .  But  he  chafed  like  a  tiger 


428  DANIEL.— CIIAP.  XL 

under  his  chain,  and  came  back  to  vent  his  rage  on  a  fallen  people, 
the  JeAvs.  He  Avas  ^^ grieved"  in  this  very  selfish  sense,  and  let 
loose  "his  indignation  against  the  holy  covenant"  and  its  people. 
At  this  time,  as  for  several  years  previous,  he  "had  intelligence" 
with  Jewish  apostates;  kept  up  a  mutual  understanding  and  co- 
operation with  them;  and  made  great  use  of  their  aid  to  further  his 
designs. 

31.  And  arms  shall  stand  on  his  part,  and  they  shall 
pollute  the  sanctuary  of  si^rength,  and  shall  take  away  the 
daily  sacrifice,  and  they  shall  place  the  abomination  that 
maketli  desolate. 

He  now  sent  out  an  army  of  22,000,  under  Appollonius  (June, 
B.  C.  1G7),  who  seized  Jerusalem,  took  possession  of  the  castle  and 
made  it  a  stronghold;  forcibly  prevented  the  Jcavs  from  Avorship- 
ing  in  their  temple;  desecrated  the  altar  by  erecting  an  idol-altar 
directly  upon  it,  and  there  offering  sacrifices  to  idols ;  and  of  course 
entirely  superseding  and  suspending  the  daily  sacrifices  of  the 
Jews.  This  was  "the  taking  away  of  the  daily  sacrifice."  The 
original  Avord,  meaning  the  constant,  the  continuous,  or,  rather,  the 
regular,  every-day  routine,  embraced  really  more  than  the  morning 
and  the  evening  sacrifices.  It  included  all  the  services  of  the 
Mosaic  ritual.  (See  note's  on  Dan.  8  :  11.) The  last  clause,  ren- 
dered, "  the  abomination  that  maketh  desolate,"  may  be  translated 
cither  "the  abomination  that  maketh  desolate,"  or  "the  abom- 
ination of  the  desolator" — the  sense  in  either  case  being  essen- 
'tially  the  same,  viz.,  that,  instead  of  the  sanctuary  which  was 
a  toAver  of  strength  and  symbolized  the  strength  God  gives  to  his 
obedient  people,  this  abominable  idol-altar  was  the  symbol  of  ruin 
and  desolation.  It  was  set  up  by  a  force  bent  on  desolating  the 
city  and  people  of  God;  it  Avas  permitted  of  God  in  judgment 
on  his  apostate  people;  it  therefore  carried  with  it  only  deso- 
lation. 

32.  And  such  as  do  wickedly  against  the  covenant  shall 
he  corrupt  by  flatteries :  but  the  j^eople  that  do  knoAV  their 
God  shall  be  strong,  and  do  exploits. 

The  books  of  Maccabees  make  the  fact  very  prominent  that  in 
these  times  many  Jews  Avere  utterly  apostate  from  the  service  and 
worship  of  God.  Of  these,  the  first  clause  speaks.  It  might  be 
rendered,  "  the  Avicked  apostates  of  the  covenant."  These  persons, 
this  vik)  king  "corru]>ts  by  his  flatteries  " — by  his  intrigues,  bribes, 

oncouragemen^s. On  tlie  other  hand,    "  the  people   Avho   knoAV 

their  God,"  in  the  sense  of  loving  and  approving  both  him  and  his 
service,  "shall  be  strong."  These  Avere  at  first  the  venerable  Mat- 
tathias  of  Modin  and  his  sons — a  most  noble  family,  of  extraordi- 
nary faith  and  Christian  heroism.  Later,  the  company  embraced 
many  others  Avho  joined  them.  No  one  can  read  their  history  as 
recorded  in  the  first  book  of  Maccabees  Avithout  concurring  in  this 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  XL  429 

brief  but  just  testimony  to  their  transcendent  heroism,  valor,  and 
energy.  "They  were  strong  and  they  performed  exploits."  The 
zeal  and  courage  of  the  aged  Mattathias  are  inspiring.  "  And  when 
he  saw  the  blasphemies  that  were  committed  in  Judea  and  Jerusa- 
lem, he  said,  AV^oe  is  me !  Wherefore  was  I  born  to  see  this  misery 
of  my  people  and  of  the  holy  city  and  to  dwell  there  when  it  was 
delivered  into  the  hand  of  the  enemy  and  the  sanctuary  into  the 
hand  of  strangers  ?  ller  temple  is  become  as  a  man  without  glory. 
Her  glorious  vessels  are  carried  away  into  captivity,  her  infants 
are  slain  in  the  streets,  her  young  men  with  the  sword  of  the  en- 
emy. Behold,  our  sanctuary,  even  our  beauty  and  our  glory,  is  laid 
waste  and  the  Gentiles  have  profaned  it.  To  what  end,  therefore, 
shall  we  live  any  longer?     Then  Mattathias  and  his  sons  rent  their 

clothes  and  put  on  sackcloth  and  mourned  very  sore." When 

the  king's  officers  came  to  Modin,  and  plied  Mattathias  with  flattery 
and  with  bribes,  pressing  him  to  be  the  first  to  fulfill  the  king's 
command  as  all  the  heathen  had  done,  he  cried  with  a  loud  voice, 
"Though  all  the  nations  that  are  under  the  king's  dominion  obey 
him,  and  fall  away  every  one  from  the  religion  of  their  fathers,  and 
give  consent  to  his  commandments,  yet  will  I  and  my  sons  and 
my  brethren  walk  in  the  covenant  of  our  fathers.  God  forbid  that 
we  should  forsake  the  law  and  the  ordinances !  AVe  will  not 
hearken  to  the  king's  words  to  go  from  our  religion,  either  on  the 
right  hand,  or  on  the  left."  "Now  when  he  had  left  speaking 
these  words,  there  came  up  a  Jew  in  the  sight  of  all,  to  sacrifice  on 
the  altar  at  Modin,  according  to  the  king's  commandment.  Which 
thing  when  Mattathias  saw,  he  was  inflamed  with  zeal,  and  his  reins 
trembled,  neither  could  he  forbear  to  show  his  anger  according  to 
judgment;  wherefore  he  ran  and  slew  him  upon  the  altar.  Also 
the  king's  commissioner,  who  compelled  men  to  sacrifice,  he  killed 
at  that  time,  and  the  altar  he  pulled  down.  Then  he  cried  through- 
out the  city.  Whosoever  is  zealous  of  the  law,  and  maintaineth  the 

covenant,  let  him  follow  me."     1  Mac.  2:  6-27. This  small  but 

heroic  band  retired  to  the  mountain  fastnesses  of  Southern  Pales- 
tine; were  pursued  by  their  persecutors,  were  attacked  upon  the 
Sabbath,  and  full  one  thousand  of  them  were  cut  down  unresisting. 
They  would  not  take  up  arms  to  resist  on  the  Sabbath,  but  fell  say- 
.ing,  "Let  us  die  in  all  our  innocency;  heaven  and  earth  shall  tes- 
tify for  us  that  ye  put  us  to  death  wrongfully."  V.  37.  The  surviv- 
ors, upon  second  thought,  determined  to  defend  their  lives  whenever 
attacked.  Others,  fleeing  from  persecution,  came  in  and  were  a 
stay  unto  them.  "  So  they  joined  their  forces  and  smote  sinful 
men  in  their  anger  and  wicked  men  in  their  wrath ;  but  the  rest 
fled  to  the  heathen  for  succor.  Then  Mattathias  and  his  friends 
went  round  about  and  pulled  down  the  altars;  and  what  children 
soever  they  found  within  the  coast  of  Israel  uncircumcised,  they 
circumcised  valiantly.  They  pursued  also  after  the  proud  men, 
and  the  work  prospered  in  their  hand.  So  they  recovered  the  law 
out  of  the  hand  of  the  Gentiles  and  out  of  the  hand  of  kings, 
neither  suffered  they  the  sinner  to  triumph"  (1  Mac.  2:  43—18). 


480  DANIEL.— CHAP.  XI. 

Now  when  the  time  ^rew  near  that  Mattathias  should  die,  he  said 
unto  his  sons,  Now  hath  pride  and  rebuke  gotten  strength,  and  the 
time  of  destruction  and  the  wrath  of  indignation  [have  come.]  Now 
therefore,  my  sons,  be  ye  zealous  for  the  law,  and  give  your  lives 
for  the  covenant  of  your  fathers.  Call  to  remembrance  what  acts 
our  fathers  did  in  their  time;  so  shall  ye  receive  great  honor  and 
an  everlasting  name.  Was  not  Abraham  found  faithful  in  tempta- 
tion, and  it  was  imputed  unto  him  for  righteousness  ?  Joseph,  in 
the  time  of  his  distress,  kept  the  commandment,  and  was  made 
lord  of  Egypt.  Phineas,  our  father,  in  being  zealous  and  fervent, 
obtained  the  covenant  of  an  everlasting  priesthood.  Joshua,  for 
fulfilling  the  word,  was  made  a  judge  in  Israel.  Caleb,  for  bearing 
witness  before  the  congregation,  received  the  heritage  of  the  land. 
David,  for  being  merciful,  possessed  the  throne  of  an  everlasting 
kingdom.  Elias,  for  being  zealous  and  fervent  for  the  law  was 
taken  up  into  heaven.  Ananias,  Azarias,  and  Misael,  by  believing, 
were  saved  out  of  the  flame,  Daniel,  for  his  innocency,  was  deliv- 
ered from  the  mouth  of  the  lions.  And  thus  consider  ye  throughout 
all  ages  that  none  who  put  their  trust  in  Him  shall  he  overcome. 
Fear  not,  then,  the  words  of  a  sinful  man,  for  his  glory  shall  be 
dung  and  worms.  To-day  he  shall  be  lifted  up,  and  to-morrow  he 
shall  not  be  found,  because  he  has  returned  into  his  dust,  and  his 
thought  is  turned  to  nothing.  Wherefore,  my  sons,  be  valiant  and 
show  yourselves  men  in  behalf  of  the  law ;  for  by  it  ye  shall  obtain 

glory"  (1  Mac.  2:  49-64).     So  Mattathias  closes  his  testimony. 

His  son  Judas  becomes  military  chieftain.  His  record  is  grand  and 
thrilling.  "  Then  his  son  Judas,  called  Maccabeus,  rose  up  in  his 
stead.  And  all  his  brethren  helped  him,  and  so  did  all  they  that 
held  with  his  father ;  and  they  fought  with  cheerfulness  the  battle  of 
Israel.  So  he  gat  his  people  great  honor,  and  put  on  a  breast-plate 
as  a  giant,  and  girt  his  warlike  harness  about  him,  and  he  made 
battles,  protecting  the  host  with  his  sword.  In  his  acts  he  was 
like  a  lion,  and  like  a  lion's  whelp  roaring  for  his  prey.  For  he 
pursued  the  wicked  and  sought  them  out  and  burnt  up  those  that 
vexed  his  people.  Wherefore  the  wicked  shrunk  for  fear  of  him 
and  all  the  workers  of  iniquity  were  troubled,  because  salvation 
prospered  in  his  hand.  He  also  grieved  many  kings,  and  made 
Jacob  glad  with  his  acts,  and  his  memorial  is  blessed  forever. 
Moreover  he  went  through  the  cities  of  Juda,  destroying  the  un- 
godly out  of  them  and  turning  away  wrath  from  Israel,  so  that  he 
was  renowned  unto  the  utmost  part  of  the  earth,  and  he  received 

unto  him  such  as  were  ready  to  perish"   (1   Mac.  3:  1-9). 

When  the  first  great  host  of  Syrians  came  down  upon  Judas,  his 
puny  band  said  to  him,  "  How  shall  we  be  able,  so  few,  to  fight 
against  so  great  a  multitude  and  so  strong,  seeing  we  are  ready  to 
faint  with  fasting  all  this  day?  To  whom  Judas  answered;  "it  is 
no  hard  matter  for  many  to  be  shut  up  in  the  hands  of  a  few,  and 
with  the  God  of  heaven  it  is  all  one  to  deliver  with  a  great  multi- 
tude or  a  small  company,  for  the  victory  of  battle  standeth  not  in 
tlie  multitude  of  a  host,  but  strength  cometh  from  heaven.     They 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  XI.  431 

come  against  us  in  much  pride  and  iniquity  to  destroy  us,  and  our 
wiv^es  and  children,  and  to  spoil  us ;  but  we  fight  for  our  lives  and 
our  laws.  Wherefore  the  Lord  himself  will  overthrow  them  before 
our  face;  and  as  for  you,  be  not  afraid  of  them."  "Now  as  soon 
as  he  left  off  speaking,  he  leaped  suddenly  upon  them,  and  so  Se- 
ron  and  his  host  were  overthrown  before  him  "  (1  Mac.  3  :  17-23). 

In  those  times   the  whole   army  sought  the  mighty  God  in 

prayer.  "How  shall  we  be  able  to  stand  against  them,  unless 
Thou,  0  God,  be  our  help?"  "Arm  yourselves  then,  said  Judas, 
and  be  ready  to  fight  with  these  nations  who  come  against  us  to 
destroy  us  and  our  sanctuary ;  for  it  is  better  for  us  to  die  in  bat- 
tle than  to  behold  the  calamities  of  our  people  and  our  sanctuary. 
Nevertheless  as  the  will  of  God  is  in  heaven,  so  let  him  do"  (1 

Mac.  3 :  53,  58-60). Truly  these  are  the  words  and  the  deeds 

of  Christian  heroes ! 

33.  And  they  that  understand  among  the  people  shall 
instruct  many:  yet  they  shall  fall  by  the  sword,  and  by 
flame,  by  captivity,  and  by  spoil,  many  days. 

This  first  clause  might  be  rendered  either  "  the  wise  ones  among 
the  people,"  or  "the  teachers  of  the  people,"  with  no  great  difier- 
ence  in  the  ultimate  meaning.  They  devote  themselves  to  teaching 
the  people  the  law  and  the  claims  of  God.  Yet,  one  after  another, 
they  fall  in  war  for  many  days.  The  venerable  father  Mattathias 
first;  after  him,  Jonathan,  Eleazar,  Judas,  Simon — a  noble  band, 
yet  within  the  course  of  this  twenty-four  years'  war  with  the  Syri- 
ans they  fell. 

34i  Now  when  they  shall  fall,  they  shall  be  liolpen  with 
a  little  help :  but  many  shall  cleave  to  them  with  flatteries. 

Nevertheless  God  aided  them  with  a  little  help.  The  results  of 
the  war  gradually  worked  toward  their  political  independence, 
which  at  length  (B.  C.  143)  they  achieved.  This  help  was  small 
compared  with  that  which  the  Lord  gave  his  people  in  the  days  of 
Joshua  and  of  David. That  "  many  clave  to  them  with  flatter- 
ies" is  a  matter  of  history.  Their  cause  suffered  more  than  once 
from  treacherous  friends. 

35.  And  some  of  them  of  understanding  shall  fall,  to  try 
them,  and  to  purge,  and  to  make  them  white,  even  to  the 
time  of  the  end :  because  it  is  yet  for  a  time  appointed.    • 

Some  of  their  wisest  and  best  men  fell — Jonathan,  Judas  and 
others;  God's  purpose  in  this  affliction  being  to  chastise  his  people 
the  more  thoroughly ;  to  make  them  cease  from  man  and  put  their 
trust  in  the  Lord  alone.    This  is  in  harmony  with  his  usual  course 

of  moral  discipline  in  this  world  of  trial. Such  would  be  the 

state  of  things  "to  the  time  of  the  end,"  until  the  period  assigned 
of  God  for  tills  scene  of  trial  should  close.  All  was  "  noted  in  his 
Bcripture  of  truth"    (chap.   10:   21);   it  should  transpire  accord- 


432  DANIEL.— CHAP.  XL 

ingly.  The  Lord  had  certain  ends  to  answer  in  respect  to  the 
moral  discipline  of  his  people.  These  scenes  of  conflict  and  tnal 
would  continue  until  those  ends  were  answered. 

36.  And  the  king  sliall  do  according  to  his  will ;  and  he 
shall  exalt  himself,  and  magnify  himself  above  every  god, 
and  shall  speak  marvelous  things  against  the  God  of  gods, 
and  shall  prosper  till  the  indignation  be  accomplished :  for 
that  that  is  determined  shall  be  done. 

37.  Neither  shall  he  regard  the  God  of  his  fathers,  nor 
the  desire  of  women,  nor  regard  any  god :  for  he  shall  mag- 
nify himself  above  all. 

38.  But  in  his  estate  shall  he  honor  the  God  of  forces : 
and  a  god  whom  his  fathers  knew  not  shall  he  honor  wdth 
gold,  and  silver,  and  wdth  precious  stones,  and  pleasant 
things. 

39.  Thus  shall  he  do  in  the  most  strongholds  with  a 
strange  god,  wdiom  he  shall  acknowledge  and  increase  with 
glory :  and  he  shall  cause  them  to  rule  over  many,  and 
shall  divide  the  land. for  gain. 

By  all  the  established  laws  of  lan,2;uage,  this  passage  must  treat 
of  the  same  king  whose  wars  and  whose  persecutions  of  the  saints 
have  been  the  subject  of  remark  from  v.  22  onward  to  this  point. 
He  is  the  king — the  same  before  spoken  of,  the  Hebrew  article  be- 
ing explicit  testimony  to  this  point.  Further,  the  connection  of 
thought  as  well  as  of  grammatical  construction  is  close  and  deci- 
sive; for  this  king  is  able  to  "do  according  to  his  will"  only  be- 
cause the  Lord  has  indignation  against  his  apostate  people,  and 
therefore  sees  fit  to  make  use  of  this  "vile  king"  as  the  rod  of  his 
scourging  and  discipline.  Hence  he  shall  prosper  till  the  indigna- 
tion shall  be  accomplished,  and  the  thing  determined  of  God  for 
chastisement  and  reformation  shall  be  done.  This  sort  of  logical 
reference  to  the  preceding  context  and  to  the  reasons  assigned  in 
the  parallel  vision  (chap.  8 :  19)  for  the  great  power  of  this  same 
vile  king  constitutes  the  strongest  possible  connection  between  "  the 
king"  of  v.  36  and  the  king  of  the  north,  whose  case  fills  the  pas- 
sage chap.  11:  21-35. His  character,  and  his  deeds  as  illustrat- 
ive of  character,  are  the  subject  in  these  verses.  He  is  proud  and 
self-conceited ;  thinks  himself  above  every  god ;  speaks  marvelous 
things  against  the  God  of  gods — things  that  excite  the  wonder  of 
mankind  for  their  horrid  blasphemy  and  pride.  This  is  the  proph- 
ecy ;  to  which  accords  the  history  of  Antiochus  in  the  books  of 
the  Maccabees.  "Having  spoken  very  proudly"  (1  Mac.  1:  24). 
Hee  also  2  IMac.  9  throughout.  In  this  chapter,  the  author,  com 
menting  on  his  fall  from  his  chariot,  says;  "Thus  he  who  a  little 
afore  thought  he  might  command  the  waves  of  the  sea  (so  proud 
was  ho  above  the  condition  of  man)  and  weigh  the  high  mountains 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  XL  433 

in  a  balance,  vs^as  now  cast  on  the  ground  and  carried  in  a  horse- 
litter,  showing  unto  all  the  manifest  poAver  of  God."  Also  this; 
*'The  man  who  thought  a  little  afore  that  he  could  reach  to  the 
stars  of  heaven,"  etc.  Throughout,  the  historical  testimony  to  his 
pride  and  self-conceit  is  remarkably  in  harmony  A^ith  this  prophetic 

portrayal. V.  37  shows  that  he  had  no  reverence  for  the  gods 

of  his  fathers,  but  took  license  to  change  not  his  own  religious 
system  alone,  but  the  systems  of  every  people  throughout  his  great 
empire.     With  this  agrees  chap.  7 :  25 :    "  Shall  think  to  change 

times  and  laws."     His  own  will  was  supreme. By  "  the  desire 

of  women,"  in  this  connection,  must  be  meant  some  god  or  goddess 
who  was  a  favorite  of  the  Syrian  women ;  perhaps  Astarte  or  An- 

aitis. V.  38  speaks  of  the  god  he  did  worship  and  put  in  the 

place  of  the  gods  of  his  fathers.  He  is  the  "god  ofjbrces,"  or 
military  fortresses — this  being  the  sense  of  the  original  word  here 
used.  Commentators  differ  as  to  the  god  specially  intended,  some 
supposing  him  to  be  Jupiter;  others,  Hercules,  who  is  known  to 
be  of  Syrian  origin;   and  others.  Mars,  the  Roman  god  of  war. 

In  V.  39  the  received  translation  does  not  make  it  plain  Avho 

is  meant  by  ^^  them"  whom  "he"  (the  king)  "will  cause  to  rule 
over  many."  The  sense  of  the  latter  part  of  the  verse  would  be 
better  expressed  by  this  translation;  "Whosoever  will  recognize 
[his  war-god,  before  spoken  of,]  he  will  greatly  honor  and  give  him 
rule  over  many,  and  apportion  to  him  the  lands  for  reward."  The 
last  words  may  mean  either  as  a  reward  for  his  homage  to  the 
war-god  or  for  pay,  i.  e.,  for  a  money  consideration  to  himself. 
The  former  view  is  more  in  harmony  with  the  previous  context; 
the  latter,  with  the  known  avarice  of  this  king.  Probably  the  gen- 
eral doctrine  of  the  verse  is  that  whoever  will  fall  in  with  the 

king's  views  as  to  his  god  he  will  pay  him  well  for  it. The  first 

clause  of  the  verse  is  not  altogether  lucid.  I  take  it  to  mean; 
This  is  his  policy  in  the  matter  of  strong  fortresses,  with  the  aid 
of  his  war-god;  i.  e.,  he  carries  on  war  and  defends  his  strong- 
holds by  milking  great  account  of  his  god  of  war;  and  he  takes 
care  to  draw  his  people  into  the  same  homage  by  amply  rewarding 
them. 

40.  And  at  the-  time  of  the  end  shall  the  king  of  the 
south  push  at  him :  and  the  king  of  the  north  shall  come 
against  him  like  a  w4iiiiwind,  with  chariots,  and  Avith  horse- 
men, and  with  many  ships ;  and  he  shall  enter  into  the 
countries,  and  shall  overflow  and  pass  over. 

41.  He  shall  enter  also  into  the  glorious  land,  and  many 
countries  shall  be  overthrown:  but  these  shall  escape  out 
of  his  hand,  even  Edom,  and  Moab,  and  the  chief  of  the 
children  of  Amnion. 

42.  He  shall  stretch  forth  his  hand  also  upon  the  coun- 
tries: and  the  land  of  Egypt  shall  not  escape. 

43.  But  he  shall  have  power  over  the  treasures  of  gold 

19 


434  DANIEL.— CHAP.  XI. 

and  of  silver,  and  over  all  the  precious  things  of  Egypt : 
and  the  Libyans  and  the  Ethiopians  shall  he  at  his  steps. 

44.  But  tidings  out  of  the  east  and  out  of  the  north 
shall  trouble  him:  therefore  he  shall  go  forth  with  great 
fury  to  destroy,  and  utterly  to  make  away  many. 

45.  And  he  shall  plant  the  tabernacles  of  his  palace  be- 
tween the  seas  in  the  glorious  holy  mountain :  yet  he  shall 
come  to  his  end,  and  none  shall  help  him. 

The  legitimate  sense  of  the  several  words  and  phrases  in  this 
passage  is  not  difficult,  but  the  general  meaning  of  the  whole,  as 
related  to  the  subject  of  the  chapter,  does  involve  one  very  grave 

and  difficult  question. We  look  first  to  the  sense  of  the  several 

words  and  phrases. "The  time  of  the  end,"  must  doubtless  be 

construed  as  in  the  cases  where  it  has  already  occurred,  e.  g.^  v. 
27,  "For  yet  the  end  shall  be  at  the  time  appointed;"  and  v.  35, 
"even  to  the  time  of  the  end;  because  it  is  yet  for  a  time  ap- 
pointed;" and  essentially  v.  36,  "till  the  indignation  be  accom- 
plished." Also  in  the  parallel  prophecy,  chap.  8:  19,  "I  will  make 
thee  know  what  shall  be  ia  the  last  end  of  the  indignation,  for  at 
the  time  appointed  the  end  shall  be."  It  is  not,  therefore,  the  end 
of  the  world  in  our  modern  sense,  but  is  toward  the  end  of  the 
first  age,  that  is,  before  the  Messiah,  in  the  Jewish  sense ;  but  yet 
more  particularly,  the  time  of  the  end  of  God's  visitations  of  judg- 
ment on  his  apostate  Jewish  people  by  the  hand  especially  of  Anti- 
ochus  Epiphanes.  So  I  have  been  compelled  to  explain  it  in  the 
passages  M'here  it  has  occurred  already ;  so  I  must  explain  it  here. 

"The  king  of  the  south"  and  "the  king  of  the  north"  can  be 

no  other  than  JPtolemy  Philometor  of  Egypt,  and  Antiochus  Epiph- 
anes of  Syria.      They  have  been  before    us  under  these  descriji- 

tive  names  repeatedly,  vs.  21-39 :  they  are  here  again. The  king 

of  the  south  '^pushes"  af  his  antagonist — the  figure  being  taken 
from  the  fighting  of  horned  animals,  e.  (/.,  rams  and  bulls.  The 
fighting  of  the  king  of  the  north  is  compared  to  a  storm,  a  whirlwind 
coming  down  in  its  fury,  and  with  its  fierce  blasts  sweeping  away 

all  before  it. "The  glorious  land,"  here,  as  in  chap.  8:  9,  and 

11:  16,  45,  can  mean  nothing  else  than  Palestine,  the  Hebrew 
word  being  the  same  in  each  passage.     See  notes  on  chap.  8:  9. 

"  The  chief  of  the  children  of  Ammon,"  some  take  to  mean 

their  princes,  chief  men;  while  others  think  it  implies  a  degTce  of 
superiority  in  the  Ammonites  as  a  whole  com|:)ared  with  the  people 
of-Edom  and  Moab;  "and  the  superior  children  of  Ammon.'     The 

diffiirence  is  not  here  of  much  importance. "  He  shall  stretch 

forth  his  hand  upon  the  countries,'  implies  an  eflbrt  to  get  them 
into  his  possession.     "To  put  forth  the  hand,"  is  used  (Exod.  22: 

8,  11)  for  one  who  steals  or  robs  his  neighhor's  goods. "The 

Ethiopians  and  Lybians  at  his  steps,"  or  at  his  feet,  implies  that 
they  go  before  him  as  his  soldiers  or  servants,  to  march  at  his 
orders  and  do  his  bidding.     The  analogous  Hebrew  phrase,  "  at 


DANIEL.-^CHAP.  XI.  435 

his  feet,"  occurs  in  this  sense  Exod,  11 :  8;  Judg.  4:  10;  and  2  Sam. 

15 :  16,  17. "  Tidings  out  of  the  east  and  out  of  the  north  shall 

trouble  him."  While  attempting  to  crush  the  heroic  bands  of 
Judas  Maccabeus,  he  heard  of  rebellion  among  the  provinces 
then  tributary  to  him,  viz.,  Persia  and  Armenia,  on  the  north  and 
east,  and  was  compelled  to  divide  his  army,  leaving  part  under 
Lysias  to  prosecute  the  war  against  Judas,  and  taking  the  other 
part  himself  to  subdue  those  insurgents.  This  new  rebellion  exas- 
perated him  greatly.  It  was  occasioned  by  the  same  tyrannous 
interference  with  their  religion  which  had  caused  the  Jewish  war. 
The  Magians  of  the  East  were  outraged  by  the  mandates  of  Anti- 
ochus,  requiring  every  people  in  all  his  realm  to  renounce  their 

ancestral  religion  and  adopt  his  Grecian  idolatry. V.  45  may 

be  paraphrased  thus :  "  And  though  he  shall  set  up  his  palace-like 
tents  between  the  Mediterranean  Sea"  (used  in  the  plural  for  the 
sense  of  the  superlative — the  great  sea)  "  and  the  glorious  holy 
mountain,  yet  he  shall  come  to  his  end  ingloriously,  and  there 
shall  be  none  to  help  him."  The  sense  is.  Though  he  impiously 
pushed  his  assaults  and  conquests  up  to  the  very  temple  of  Jeho- 
vah, he  shall  fall  like  a  mortal  ]jian,  and  there  be  none  to  save. 

Such  I  take  to  be  the  sense  of  the  several  words  and  phrases 

in  this  passage,  vs.  40-45. 

It  remains  to  inquire  into  its  general  sense  as  related  to  the  pre- 
vious context  (vs.  21-39)  and  to  the  history  of  Antiochus  Epiph- 

anes. 1  defer  for  the  present  any  notice  of  those  interpretations 

which  find  here  some  other  Antichrist  than  Antiochus  Epiphanes ; 

Papal,  Mussulman,  or  Turk. Of  those  who  refer  this  passage  to 

Antiochus,  one  class  see  in  it  a  fifth  and  last  expedition  into  Egypt, 
and  in  general  a  continuous  narrative  of  new  events  down  to  his 
death.  Another  class  suppose  it  to  be  a  recapitulation  and  sum- 
ming up  of  his  exploits. — ^ — In  the  former  class  Porphyry  leads  off, 
first  in  time.  I  quote  from  Posenmueller  on  v.  40,  thus ;  "  Tlie  things 
stated  in  this  verse.  Porphyry,  as  quoted  in  Jerome,  rightly  refers 
to  Antiochus  Epiphanes — 'his  military  expedition  in  the  eleventh 
year  of  his  reign  against  Ptolemy  Philometer,  his  sister's  son.  The 
latter,  hearing  that  Antiochus  was  coming,  assembled  many  thou- 
sand soldiers.  But  Antiochus,  like  a  fierce  storm,  swept  over  many 
countries  with  chariots,  horsemen,  and  a  great  fleet,  and  laid  all 
waste  as  he  passed.'  [The  single  quotation  marks  indicate  Por- 
phyry's statements.] Rosenmueller  subjoins — 'Of  this  new  ex- 
pedition of  Antiochus  into  Egypt  we  find  nothing  in  the  still  extant 
works  of  the  Greek  and  Roman  historians.  But  we  are  wliolly 
destitute  of  any  entire  and  continuous  history  of  Antiochus,  written 

by  a  trustworthy  author  of  his  own  age." I'hat  the  history  of 

those  times  was  written,  and  that  somewhat  fully,  may  be  inferred 

from  the  following  passage  in  Jerome's  Commentary  on  Daniel. 

"  To  understand  the  last  portion  of  Daniel,  the  copious  and  various 
histories  of  the  Greeks  are  needed,  e.  g.^  Sutorius  Callinicus,  Diodo- 
rus,  Hieronymus,  Polybius,  Posidonius,  Claudius  Theon  and  An- 
dronicus,  surnamcd  Alypius,  whom  Porphyry  affirms  that  he  has 


■136  DANIEL.— CUAP.  XI. 

followed ;  Josephus  also,  and  those  whom  he  quotes,  and  especially 
our  Livy  and  Trogus  Pompcius  and  Justin,  who  wrote  the  entire 
history  of  the  last  vision,  and  from  Alexander  to  Augustus  Cesar, 
describes  the  wars  of  Syria  and  Egypt,  i.  e.,  of  Seleucus  and  Anti- 
ochus  on  the  one  part,  and  of  the  Ptolemies  on  the  other.  If  at  any 
time  we  are  compelled  to  appeal  to  secular  history,  it  is  not  of  our 
choice,  but  as  I  may  say,  of  our  stern  necessity,  in  order  to  pro\*e 
that  the  things  predicted  many  ages  since  by  the  holy  prophets 
have  their  fulfillment  contained  in  the  history  as  well  of  Greek 

authors  as  Latin,  and  indeed  of  other  nations  also." But  almost 

the  entire  mass  of  those  histories  here  referred  to  have  perished, 
past  recovery,  and  we  are  left  to  make  up  the  history  of  those  times 

as  best  we  can  with  the  scanty  materials  still  preserved. The 

testimony  of  Porphyry  to  a  fifth  expedition  of  Antiochus  into  Egypt 
in  his  eleventh  and  last  year  would  certainly  be  entitled  to  great 
consideration,  provided  it  did  not  conflict  rather  seriously  with 
other  facts  that  seem  well  authenticated.  One  of  these  is  that  he 
was  headed  and  turned  back  from  his  fourth  expedition  (vs.  29,  30) 
by  the  llomans.  They  positively  forbade  his  interference  with 
Egyptian  affairs,  and  themselveg  assumed  the  protectorate  of  the 
young  king.  Hence  it  is  scarcely  supposable  that  Antiochus  at- 
tempted another  invasion  of  Egypt.  Besides,  the  books  of  Macca- 
bees are  silent  as  to  any  such  expedition  in  his  eleventh  and  last 
year.  If  it  had  occurred,  it  could  scarcely  have  escaped  some  no- 
tice from  them.  True,  they  devote  themselves  chiefly  to  Jewish  in- 
terests; but  such  an  expedition  must  touch  Jewish  interests  seri- 
ously. And  still  further,  they  fill  up  his  time  quite  thoroughly, 
scarcely  leaving  him  even  a  few  weeks  for  such  an  expedition  as 
this.  Hence  after  a  somewhat  careful  examination,  I  give  the  pref- 
erence to^  the  latter  of  the  two  theories  above  named,  and  account 
the  last  six  verses  of  the  chapter  a  recapitulation  of  the  history  of 
Antiochus  with  some  new  incidents.  The  most  serious  difficulty 
to  be  overcome  in  this  view  is  the  manner  of  introducing  the  pas- 
sage, "at  the  time  of  the  end,"  etc.  But  some  latitude  of  meaning 
may  be  given  to  this  phrase.  The  reader  is  prone  to  think  of  it  as 
meaning,  just  at  the  end  of  the  life  of  Antiochus.  "Whether  it  docs 
mean  this  in  the  present  case  is  the  vital  question.  For  if  it  may 
be  so  general  as  to  take  in  the  eleven  years'  reign  of  Antiochus,  it 
bears  not  at  all  against  the  construction  of  these  last  six  verses  as 

a  recapitulation  of  his  public  life. Now  on  this  precise  question, 

the  testimony  of  usage  is  perhaps  not  altogether  uniform  and  de- 
cisive. In  chap.  12:  4,  "Seal  the  book  even  to  the  time  of  the 
end,"  the  phrase  obviously  looks  to  the  whole  period  of  the  life  of 
Antiochus;  and  indeed  probably  to  the  entire  duration  of  this 
Syrian  war;  about  twenty-four  years.  In  chap.  11 :  35,  it  looks 
toward  the  closing  period  of  this  great  war,  obviously  beyond  the 
death  of  Antiochus.  "The  time  of  the  end,"  seems  to  be  nearly  or 
qujte  synonymous  with  "  the  last  end  of  tho  indignation  "  and  the 
"time  appointed"  as  these  phrases  occur  chap.  8;"l9,  and  in  so  far 
may  be  understood  to  refer  to  the  reign  of  Antiochus  as  a  whole. 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  XI.  437 

At  best  some  difSculty  still  hangs  over  this  verse,  whichever  of 

the  two  constructions  may  be  chosen.  Yet  we  are  clearly  shut  up 
to  one  of  those  two;  for  every  other  theory,  especially  every  one 
which  applies  the  passage  to  any  other  personage  than  Antiochus 

Epiphanes,  is  involved  in  tenfold  greater  difficulty. As  already 

shown,  his  reign  of  eleven  years  was  at  the  last  end  of  God's  in- 
dignation toward  the  Jews.  It  was  his  "time  appointed"  for  fear- 
ful judgments  upon  them  for  their '  sins.  In  this  broad  view  his 
reign  as  a  whole  was  "at  the  time  of  the  end."  Hence  no  violence 
is  done  to  the  established  sense  of  this  expression  when  we  para- 
phrase the  general  scope  and  sense  of  the  passage  thus : Hav- 
ing now  spoken  of  the  wars  of  Antiochus  with  Eg}'pt ;  of  his  sacri- 
legious assaults  upon  Jerusalem  and  its  temple ;  of  his  persecutions 
of  the  pious  Jews ;  of  the  gods  he  did  not  worship  and  the  gods  he 
did,  it  remains  to  sum  up  briefly  his  exploits  and  then  record  his 

death. His  first  great  exploit  was  his  terrific  onslaught  upon 

Egypt,  given  first  in  detail  (vs.  25-30)  and  then  in  general,  as  here 
(v.  40).  Next,  his  invasion  of  "the  glorious  land,"  given  in  the 
particulars,  vs.  22,  23,  28,  30-35;  and  in  the  general^  vs.  41,  45. 
Next  in  this  recapitulation,  the  countries  that  did  escape ;  Edom, 
Moab,  Ammon,  (which  in  fact  sympathized  with  him  and  aided 
him  in  his  wars  against  the  Jews  and  hence  did  not  incur  his 
displeasure;)  and  the  countries  that  did  not  escape; — Egypt,  and 
with  her,  the  Lybians  and  Ethiopians ;  and  also  Palestine.  Next, 
he  was  a  great  robber  of  the  wealth  of  cities  and  nations.  This  is 
referred  to  in  detail  (vs.  24,  28);  in  general  statement  (in  v,  43). 
Then  appears  a  new  fact  in  the  propli(?cy.  In  the  height  of  these 
desolating  conquests,  he  was  somewhat  seriously  diverted  by  up- 
risings against  his  authority  in  his  Northern  and  Eastern  prov- 
inces— a  fact  fitly  introduced  here  because  so  closely  connected 
with  his  death.     [For  the  circumstances  of  this  horrid  death,  see 

notes  on  chap.  7.] Then  naturally  the  chapter  and  the  record  of 

this  vile  king  close  with  his  death,  which  is  fitly  put  in  a  sort  of 
antithesis  with  his  horrid  impiety  against  the  house  and  people  of 
the  living  God.  Though  he  had  the  power  and  the  hardihood  to 
pitch  his  magnificent  tents  upon  God's  holy 'mountain,  yet  he  came 
down  wonderfully ;  he  came  to  his  end  and  there  was  none  to  help. 
Such  I  take  to  be  the  general  drift  and  scope  of  these  last  six  verses. 
In  addition  to  the  points  already  made,  the  following  considera- 
tions strongly  favor  this  theory  of  recapitulation. (1.)  The  state- 
ments in  this  passage  are  for  the  most  part  general  in  their  char- 
acter, and  not  specific  and  minute  as  in  the  previous  portion  of  this 
prophetic  history.  Thus,  "he  shall  enter  into  the  countries"  (v.  40); 
"shall  overthrow  7nani/  countries"  {w  41);  "he  shall  put  forth  his 
hand"  to  pillage  and  plunder  "  the  countries"  (v.  42);  "shall  go 
forth  with  great  fury  to  destroy  many"  (v.  44).  V.  45,  in  the 
form  of  its  statements,  groups  in  antithesis  with  his  death  those 
great  deeds  of  impiety  and  blasphemy  that  huvc  made  his  name 

notorious  with  infamy. (2.)  The  history  of  Antiochus,  so  far  as 

known  to  us  through  any  extant  writings,  had  been  already  given 


438  DANIEL.— CHAP.  XL 

in  detail  (vs.  21-39) ;  while  nearly  all  the  statements  in  this  closing 
passa_if;e  either  allude  to  or    st^itc  the  same  great  facts  in  a  more 

comprehensive   and   general  form. (3.)  Tlie  order  and  method 

of  the  prophetic  narrative  throughout  vs.  21-39  is  precisely  such 
as  to  bring  the  Avriter  to  a  recapitulation  here  at  the  close.  Thus 
there  is  in  the  outset  a  hint  at  his  general  character;  "a  vile  per- 
son" and  an  artful  ilattcrer  (v.  21);  then  the  way  he  gained  the 
crown;  then  his  principal  exploits  in  their  chronological  order 
through  vs.  22-35,  viz.,  his  interference  with  the  Jewish  priesthood 
(vs.  22,  23);  his  expedition  into  Armenia  (v.  24);  several  expedi- 
tions into  Egypt  (vs.  25-30) ;  his  malign  persecutions  of  the  Jews ; 
his  wars  against  them ;  his  desecration  of  their  temple  and  the 
breaking  up  of  its  worship ;  with  their  heroic  endurance  and  earn- 
est labors  for  the  truth  (vs.  28,  30-35) ;  then,  general  views  of  his 
character  as  self-conceited,  proud,  impious,  contemning  all  the 
established  religions  of  his  realm  whether  true  or  false,  and  assum- 
ing to  set  up  a  new  religion ;  the  gods  he  would  not  let  men  wor- 
ship and  the  gods  he  would  compel  them  to  worship.  This  is  a 
rounded  and  complete  view  of  his  deeds  and  character,  and  fully 
prepares  the  way  for  recapitulating  the  main  points  and  general 

features — to  be   closed  with  his   death. (4.)  The  next  chapter 

bears  very  much  the  same  character  of  recapitulation,  coupled  with 
practical  application  both  to  the  faithful  Jews  and  to  the  unfiith- 
ful.  Very  few  additional  facts  are  introduced.  The  scenes  of  the 
history  of  Antiochus  are  the  groundwork   of  the  whole  chapter. 

All  these  facts,  conspiring  to  one  and  the  same  point,  coupled 

with  the  arguments  adduced  above,  render  it  at  least  strongly  prob- 
able that  this  closing  passage  of  the  chapter  is  chiefly  a  recapitula- 
tion of  the  main  events  in  the  reign,  and  the  salient  points  in  the 
character,  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes. 

The  meaning  and  scope  of  this  chapter  having  now  been  pre- 
sented, two  topics  remain;  first,  its  relations  to  the  other  visions 
of  Daniel;  second,  the  diverse  and  opposing  views  of  some  inter- 
preters. 

1.   Its  parallelism  with  the    other   three  visions. This   ^^vile 

king^'  in  chap.  11  is  the  '''' little  Aorn"  of  chap.  7,  and  hence  this 
entire  vision  in  chap.  11  is  in  general  parallel  with  that  of  chap.  1. 
In  proof,  1  adduce  the  following  points. (1.)  The  little  horn- 
power  was  the  central  point  of  interest  there  in  chap.  7.     It  is  so 

Iiere  in  chap.    11. (2.)  lie  was  a  Avn^  there;  and  is  also  here. 

(2.)  He  came  forth  there  in  the  kingdom  that  next  succeeded 

Alexander;  precisely  so  here. (4.)  In  addition  to  the  little  horn, 

chap.  7  has  ten  other  horns  which  are  kings;  all  on  the  beast  that 
follows  Alexander,  and  obviously  all  preceding  the  little  horn,  or 

cotemporary  with  him. They  are  here  in  chap.  11  precisely  in 

their  place  and  of  the  right  number — so  clearly  defined  that  no 
commentator  hesitates  to  call  their  names  respectively,  and  no  one 
dissents   from   the  universal  testimony  which  names  and   locates 
them — ten  horns  which  are  ten  kings  between  Alexander  and  the  • 
little  horn. (5.)  From  before   this   little   horn-king  of  chap.   7 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  XL  439 

three  of  those  ten  were  plucked  up,  or  in  some  way  removed  or  over- 
thrown.  1'hey  are  here  in  chap.  11  two  of  them  falling  in  a  very 

remarkable  manner  directly  before  he  came  to  the  throne,  and  the 

third  subdued  and  subjugated  by  his  arms. (G.)  In  chap.  7  this 

little  horn-power  Avas  specially  terrible  because  it  fell  grievously 

upon  the  Jcavs  while  they  were  God's  professed  people. I're- 

cisely  so  here,  the  passage  chap.  10:  14,  affirming,  "1  am  come  to 
make  thee  understand  what  shall  befall  thy  j^eople ;''  and  chap.  11: 
22,  23,  28,  30-35,  45,  all  concurring  to  shoAv  how  terribly  he  har- 
rassed  the  pious  Jews ;  desecrated  their  temple,  broke  up  their 
.worship,  and  murdered  their  sons  and  daughters. (7.)  The  per- 
secutions which  the  little  horn  of  chap.  7  brought  on  the  Jew.s 
afflicted  Daniel  most  deeply.  The  same  is  manifest  throughout 
chaps.  10  and  12,  in  the  near  prospect  of  what  is  revealed  in  chap. 

11. (8.)  The  great  points  of  personal  character  made  prominent 

in  the  little  horn  of  chap.  7  are  keen  sagacity,  and  daring,  blas- 
phemous hostility  against  God  and  his  people. Identically  the 

same  qualities  of  character  and  spirit  appear  in  the  vile  king  of 

chap.  11. (9.)  In  chap.  7  his  specified  deeds  arCj  "wearing  out  the 

saints  of  the  Most  High;"  a  purpose  and  effort  to  subvert  their 
religion  and  break  up  their  worship,  in  the  latter  of  which  he  was 
successful  for  a  limited  specified  time — three  and  one-half  years. 

The  vile  king  of  chap.  11  does  the  same  things  precisely;  "his 

heart  is  against  the  holy  covenant;"  "he  has  indignation  against 
the  holy  covenant;"  "he  pollutes  the  sanctuary;"  "takes  away  the 
daily  sacrifice;"  causes  the  righteous  to  "fall  by  the  sword,  by  flame, 
by  captivity  and  by  spoil  many  days;"  and  as  to  the  length  of  time 
during  which  they  are  given  into  his  hand,  chap.  12:  7,  11,  corre- 
sponds fully  with  chap.  7:  25. (10.)  In  chapter  7,  this  king  dies 

by  the  special  judgments  of  God.     Expressly  so  in  chap.   11. 

liere  let  it  be  noted  that  these  are  not  merely  incidental  but  are 
7nain  points.  They  are  not  culled,  a  few  out  of  many,  but  embrace 
every  thing  of  any  importance  that  appears  in  chap.  7,  except  that 
there  his  judgment  precedes  the  first  advent,  resurrection  and  ascen- 
sion of  Christ — a  point  which  the  history  of  the  vile  king  of  chap. 
11  fully  verifies,  although  the  prophecy  had  nothing  more  to  add  on 
that  point.  Chap.  11  makes  several  new  points,  that  do  not  appear 
in  chap.  7,  but  not  a  line,  not  a  feature,  inconsistent  with  what  is 

said  in  chapter  7. Hence  the  evidence  of  identity  between  the 

little  horn-king  of  chap.  7  and  the  vile  king  of  chaps.  11  and  12, 
amounts  to  demonstration.     Any  additional  proof  wOuld  ha  quite 

superfluous. If  needful  it  might  also  be  shown  that  both  visions 

have  the  same  Persian  poAver  and  the  same  Grecian  Alexander. 
The  visions  therefore  as  a  whole  are  in  the  main  parallel. 

I  now  advance  to  a  second  main  point  in  this  question  of  parallelism. 

This  '■'■vile  king '\  of  chapter  11  is  the  same  personage  as  the  little 

horyi-king  of  chapter  8 ;  and  hence  there  is  a  close  analogy  between  this 

entire  vision  of  chapter  11  and  that  of  chap.  8. The  following  points, 

made  very  briefly,  might  be  more  expanded,  but  will  suffice. 

(1.)  The  little  horn  is  the  main  theme  in  chap.  8,  as  the  vilo  king 


410  DANIEL.— CHAP.  XI. 

is  in  chap.  11. (2.)  He  is  a  king  incliap.  8,  and  so  also  in' chap. 

11. (o.)  He  is  reached  in  each  chapter  by  the  same  .historic 

thread,  beginning  in  each  case  at  the  prophet's  stand-point  in  time 
and  space;  passing  from  the  Persian  line  to  Alexander;  then  in  the 
line  of  his  successors  to  Antiochus  Epiphanes.     The  track  pursued 

in  each  chapter  is  identically  the  same. (4.)  Yet  more  definitely; 

in  chap.  8,  the  little  horn  comes  up  in  one  of  the  four  kingdoms  of 

Alexander's   cleft  empire.     Precisely  so   in   chap.    11. (5.)  In 

chap.  8  he  pushes  his  conquests  to•^vard  the  south,  the  east,  and  the 
pleasant  land.     The  very  same  thing  is  brought  out  with  much  more 

detail  in  chap.  11. (6.)  The  things  he  does  against  the  Jews  arid 

their  i\Iosaic  ritual  service  and  temple  are  given  with  considerable 
detail  in  chap.  8 :  10-14,  24,  25.     Suffice  it  to  say  tliat  wc  have  the 

same  details  in  chap.  11. Compare  "casting  down  some  of  the 

host  and  of  tlie  stars"  (chap.  8:  10)  with  chap.  11:  22,  33,  35;  des- 
ecrating the  sanctuary  (chap.  8:  11-13)  with  chap.  11:  31;  daring 
to  confront  the  Almighty  (chap.  8:  11,  25)  with  chap.  11:  28,  30, 

3G. (7.)  lie  is  successful  against  God's  people  and  suspends  their 

established  worship  for  a  time.  This  is  said  in  chap.  8:  12-14,  and 
is  fully  implied  in  chap.  11:  31-35.  The  designations  of  time  are 
not  identical  because  chap.  8:  13, 14,  covers  more  events  than  chap. 
12:  7,  or  12:  11.  But  even  in  this  there  is  not  the  least  discrep- 
ancy. The  diversity  as  to  the  amount  of  time  embraced,  really 
streugthcns  rather  than  weakens  the  argument  for  parallelism,  since 
it  shows  that  the  two  visions  are  really  independent  statements  of 
the  same  grand  series  of  events.     Such  statements  will  be  undesign- 

edl}'-  coincident,  as  these  are. (8.)  The  animus  of  this  king  and 

of  his  persecutions  is  in  each  vision  the  same.  In  both  he  is  utterly 
vain,  self-conceited,  proud,  arrogant  and  blasphemous  toward  Al- 
mighty God. (9.)  The  main  points  of  his  character,  as  put  in 

chap.  8,  make  him  cunning,  wily,  crafty  and  fearfully  malignant 
against  God's  people.     So  also  in  chap.  11  we  have  the  same  man 

in  every  shade  of  his  character. (10.)  The  references  to  God's 

indignation  toward  his  people  for  their  apostasy  and  to  "the  time 
of  the  end,"  are  the  same  in  both  visions.     See  chap.  8:  17,  19,  26. 

and  also  chap.  11:  27,  35,  36,  40,  and  chap.  12:  4. (H-)  In  each 

chapter  the  manner  of  his  death  is  essentially  the  same,  even  to  the 
minute  point  of  an  antithesis  between  his  bold  assault  against  the 
Almighty,  and  his  helpless  fall.  In  chap.  8:  25,  Though  he  shall 
be  impious  enough  to  "stand  np  against  the  Prince  of  princes,"  yet 
"he  shall  be  broken  without  hand."  In  chap.  11:  45,  Though  he 
shall  have  the  hardihood  and  daring  to  "  pitch  his  magnificent  tents 
in  the  glorious  holy  mountain,  yet  he  shall  come  to  his  end  and 
none  shall  help  him." These  points  might  be  amplified  and  per- 
haps some  others  added.  I  have  not  attempted  to  make  the  com- 
parison exhaustive.  But  it  is  surely  sufficient.  For  here,  as  in  the 
former  case,  the  points  of  comparison  are  not  relatively  small  but 
are  main  points.  They  are  not  a  few  out  of  many,  but  embrace  all 
that  are  ot"  "any  importance ;  all  that  are  needed  to  give  a  fair  view 
of  the  history  and  character  of  this  personage.     There  can  there- 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  XI.  441 

fore  i)e  no  manner  of  doubt  of  the  absolute  identity  of  the  little 
horn  of  chap.  8  with  the  vile  king  of  chap.  11;  and  consequently 

no  doubt  as  to  the  general  parallelism  of  that  chapter  with  this. 

I  see  no  occasion  here  to  speak  further  in  respect  to  the  first  vision, 
recorded  chap.  2 :  31-45.  It  is  very  brief;  very  general  in  its  state- 
ments ;  and  by  universal  admission  so  manifestly  parallel  with  chap. 
7  as  to  require  no  additional  remark  here.  Hence  my  argument  for 
the  general  parallelism  of  these  four  visions  is  now  complete. 

It  is  now  in  place  to  say  that  this  point  of  parallelism,  so  abun- 
dantly manifest,  is  of  the  utmost  importance  in  the  interpretation 
of  all  these  four  parallel  visions.  For  chajAers  11  and  12  now  be- 
come God's  own  interpretation  in  plain  words  of  the  S7/mbols  that  are 
used  in  each  of  the  other  visions,  and  especially  in  chaps.  7  and  8. 
This  is  God's  own  angel  coming  down  to  interpret  for  us  no  less 
than  for  Daniel  the  full  significance  of  those  symbols,  and  especi- 
ally, of  that  terrible  little  horn  of  chap.  7  and  of  chap.  8.  This 
prophecy  in  chap.  11  stands  in  the  same  relation  to  what  is  said 
and  to  what  is  shown  by  symbols  of  the  little  horn  in  chap.  7:  8- 
11,  21,  22,  and  also  in  chap.  8:  9-14,  as  the  limited  interpretations, 
given  in  those  two  chapters  bear  to  the  portions  which  they  profess- 
edly explain.  That  is,  we  have  here  just  so  much  additional  expla- 
nation of  those  symbols  in  plain  English  words.  This  is  a  fact  of 
the  gravest  importance  and  one  which  has  often  been  strangely 

overlooked. In  view  of  this  fact,  I  was  for  several  3^ears  in  the 

habit,  in  my  efibrts  to  instruct  classes  in  the  prophecies  of  Daniel, 
of  beginning  with  the  last  vision  instead  of  the  first,  and  indeed, 
of  reversing  the  order  throughout.  The  fact  that  each  successive 
vision  goes  more  and  more  into  detail;  and  also  shades  olf  more 
and  more  from  symbols  into  litei-al  language,  amply  justifies  this 
arrangement.  There  is  wisdom  in  beginning  with  what  is  most 
.plain  and  eas}^,  and  so  advancing  to  what  is  more  difficult. 

11.  It  remains  to  notice  other  and  diverse  interpretations  of 
chap:  11. As  already  said,  all  commentators  agree  with  remark- 
able unanimity  throughout  the  first  thirty  verses.  They  all  begin 
with  Cyrus  and  the  Persian  line  to  Xerxes;  they  all  pass  over 
thence  to  Alexander  and  his  successors  of  the  Egyptian  and  Syrian 
kingdoms,  and  keep  company  through  the  ten  kings  to  Antiochus 
Epiphanes,  and  without  exception  (among  those  of  any  note),  they 
find  Antiochus  in  vs.  21-30.  But  here  they  begin  to  diverge,  and 
from  this  point  they  scatter  indefinitely.  Home  break  off  at  v.  31, 
and  find  pagan  Kome  in  vs.  31-35;  then  Papal  Pome  vs.  3G-40, 
and  some  unknown  yet  still  future  xintichrist  in  vs.  40-45.  Othei-s 
apply  the  chapter  to  Antiochus  up  to  v.  36,  and  then  find  tlie  Mo- 
hammedan system  onward ;  and  perhaps  the  Turks  in  the  last  six 
verses.  Yet  others  make  v.  40  the  point  of  divergence  from  Anti- 
ochus Epiphanes. Against  all  these,  I  maintain  tliat  Antiochus 

is  the  great  theme  of  this  vision  from  v.  21  to  the  end  of  the  chap- 
ter; and  that,  to  diverge  from  him  at  any  one  of  the  points  named 
or  at  any  other  point,*  is  to  violate  the  laws  of  language  and  can  not 
be  justified;  can  not  give  the  true  interpretation. 


442  DANIEL.— CHAP.  xr. 

1.  Antiochus  can  not  he  left  at  v.  31. (1.)  Because  there  is  not 

the  least  occasion  for  it.  The  verses  that  follow  apply  to  him  as 
naturally  and  are  fulfilled  in  him  as  completely  as  the  verses  that 
precede.  Hence  there  is  not  the  least  occasion  to  diverge  from 
him,<and  hence  it  can  not  be  done  except  tlirough  mere  caprice 

and  through  violence  done  to  the  laws  of  language. (2.)  Because 

the  grammatical  construction  forbids  it.  Vs.  28-30  all  speak  of 
Antiochus  throughout.  The  pronouns,  "he,"  "his,"  "him,"  all  rep- 
,'resent  this  king.  It  is  he  who  "returns  into  his  land;"  whose 
"heart  is  against  the  holy  covenant;"  against  whom  "the  ships  of 
Chittim  shall  come,"  and  who  "has  intelligence"  (a  secret  under 

standing)  with  those  Jews  that  "  forsake  their  holy  covenant." 

Now  V.  31  refers  to  precisely  this  same  man.  The  first  clause 
ought  to  be  rendered,  "  And  an  armed  force  goes  forth  from  him" — 
the  "him"  referred  to  being  Antiochus  and  no  one  else.  Gram- 
matically, it  can  be  no  other  man. (3.)  Antiochus  can  not  be 

dropped  at  the  beginning  of  v.  31,  and  another  person  be  intro- 
duced here,  because  of  the  close  connection  of  historic  thought. 
We  see  him  in  v.  28  enraged  against  God's  covenant  and  people; 
in  V.  30  yet  more  enraged  and  mad  against  them,  his  naturally  bad 
temper  being  now  exasperated  by  his  being  baffled  in  Egypt  by  the 
Eomans ; — so  he  is  nursing  his  wrath,  preparing  for  an  outbreak  of 
vengeance  upon  the  feeble  Jews.     In  v.  31  the  storm-cloud  bursts — 

just  as  we  might  expect. But  no !  these  dissenting  critics  break 

the  thread  of  this  continuous  history  at  this  very  point.  They  tell 
us  that  this  vengeance  is  executed,  not  by  Antiochus,  but  by  Pagan 
Ivome,  from  two  hundred  to  five  hundred  years  after  Antiochus  is 
dead  !  Such  interpretation  is  simply  monstrous !  To  say  that  it 
violates  all  ji>6t  laws  of  language,,  is  only  a  moderate  statement  of 
the  facts.     One  might  as  well  break  the  continuous  thread  of  any 

narrative,  or  history,  or  biography  that  can  be  written. At  the , 

commencement  of  v.  31,  Antiochus  has  just  begun  to  afflict  the 
Jews.  The  writer  has  reached  this  point  in  his  prophetic  narra- 
tive. Why  should  he  not  be  allowed  to  finish  what  he  would  say  ? 
And  more  yet ;  why  shall  he  not  be  allowed  to  go  deeper  than  the 
mere  fact  of  his  outrages,  persecutions,  and  profanations,  to  those 
elements  of  character  that  lay  at  the  foundation,  as  he  does  in  vs. 
30-39?  And  why  not  let  him  recapitulate  this  vile  king's  exploits, 
and  bring  down  the  narrative  in  regular  order  to  his  striking,  awful 
death  ?  When  an  author  makes  his  connections  of  thought  so 
close,  he  does  all  he  can  do  to  guard  his  writings  against  being  ruth- 
lessly rent  into  fragments,  and  those  fragments  assigned  to  parties 

and   subjects  he  never  dreamed  of! (4.)  Of  this  chapter,  the 

p(n-tion  Ijefore  v.  31  and  the  portion  after  are  closely  related,  inas- 
much as  on  both  sides  of  this  line  persecution  rages  against  pre- 
cisely the  Jeivs.  It  is  so  in  vs.  22,  28,  30;  it  is  so  also  in  vs.  31-35, 
45.  Hence  a  very  strong  probability  that  the  persecution  is 
throughout  identically  the  same.  At  all  events,  the  persecution 
vs.  31-35  can  not  possibly  he  that  by  pagan  Home  upon  the  primi- 
tive church,  for  they  were  not  God's  ancient  covenant  people  with 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  XI.  443 

their  sanctuary  and  ritual  worship. Af>;ain  to  the  same  point; 

the  geographical  location  of  the  events  in  these  two  sections  of  the 
chapter  is  the  same.  This  king,  returning  from  Egypt  to  ^^yria, 
naturally  passes  through  Palestine,  and  vs.  28,  30  imply  that  he  is 
there.  On  the  other  side  of  this  line  the  events  are  also  in  Pales- 
tine, where  the  sanctuary  stands  (v.  31)  and  where  the  daily  sacri- 
fice belongs.  Vs.  41  and  45  each  contains  the  usual  distinctive 
term  in  Daniel  for  Palestine,  "the  glorious  land;"  fixing  the  same 
location  for  the  events  of  the  last  portion  of  the  chapter.  But  the 
persecutions  by  pagan  Eome  or  Papal  Kome  were  not  exclusively 
or  even  chiefly  done  in  Palestine.     Therefore  no  portion  of  this 

chapter  can  apply  to  those -persecutions. (5.)  The  portion  before 

this  line  and  the  portion  after  are  connected  in  time.  This  is 
shown  by  the  use  on  both  sides  of  this  line  of  the  phrases,  "  the 
end,"  "the  time  appointed,"  as  in  v.  27,  before  it;  and  in  vs.  35, 
36,  40,  after  it.  This  test  also  is  decisive.  For  it  utterly  precludes 
the  application  of  any  part  of  the  chapter  to  Kome,  whether  pagan 
or  Papal,  or  to  Mohammed,  or  to  any  otlier  personage  or  power 
than  Antiochus.  It  can  not  for  a  moment  be  supposed  that  these 
alhisions  to  "the  time  of  God's  indignation"  against  the  apostate 
Jews;  to  "the  time  appointed"  for  these  judgments;  or  to  "the 
time  of  the  end" — mean  nothing;  or  that,  despite  of  their  meaning, 
we  may  go  on  to  locate  the  events  of  this  chapter,  with  no  refer- 
ence to  them,  anywhere  along  during  the  next  two  thousand  years 
after  Antiochus  lived  and  died!     To  do  so  would  utterly  ignore 

God's  own  landmarks  of  time! (6.)    The  wresting  of  vs.  31-35 

away  from  Antiochus  is  utterly  forbidden,  by  the  fact  that  the  par- 
allel prophecies  of  chaps.  7  and  8  ascribe  to  Antiochus  precisely 
the  things  here  recorded.  The  proof  of  this  has  been  given  already. 
Just  what  is  said  here  of  his  deeds — c.  g.,  that  he  polluted  the  sanc- 
tuary; took  away  the  daily  sacrifice;  made  war  upon  the  saints 
and  wore  them  out  by  persecution ;  in  short,  had  them  very  much 
in  his  power  for  a  limited  time — constitute  the  substance  of  his 
deeds  as  given  in  those  parallel  chapters,  7  and  8.  Therefore  these 
verses,  31-35,  must  refer  to  Antiochus. 

2.  The  thread  can  not  be  broken  at  v.  36,  and  only  what  precedes 
be  applied  to  Antiochus,  and  all  that  follows  to  Papal  Rome  or  to 
the  Mohammedan  power.  Why  not? (1.)  Because  this  person- 
age is  not  only  a  king  but  "z!/ic  king" — the  same  before  spoken  of 
and  spoken  of  as  a  king  in  every  verse  since  we  saw  him  take  his 
throne  in  v.  21.  His  being  a  Icing  forbids  the  application  of  these 
verses  to  Papal  Rome  or  to  Mohammedanism.  His  being  "  the  king  " 
forbids  their  application  to  any  other  king  than  Antiochus  Epipha- 
nes.— — (2.)  Because  this  is  the  place  to  give  a  general  view  of  his 
character.  Ilis  deeds  have  been  rehearsed ;  now  let  tha  revealing 
angel  go  deeper  than  deeds,  even  to  the  elements  of  his  character 
out  of  which  such  deeds  came.  Why  forbid  him?  Why  torture 
his  words  by  wresting  them  from  so  fitting  a  theme  and  insisting 

that  they  look  toward  Papal  Rome? (3.)  The  character  as  here 

drawn  precisely  accords  with  the  deeds  as  narrated  above.     Hence 


444         ^  DANIEL.— CHAP.  XL 

this  view  of  his  cliaractcr  can  not  be  severed  from  those  deeds  with- 
out violence  to  the  course  of  thoui^ht  and  the  laws  of  hinguage. 

(4.)  The  statement  in  v.  30,  that  this  king  shall  "prosper  until  the 
indignation  shall  )>e  accomplished  and  the  things  determined  shall 
be  done,"  shows  that  the  same  personage  is  spoken  of  and  the  same 
series  of  events  also  as  in  v.  35,  which  limits  those  persecutions  to 
"the  time  appointed,"  and  as  in  v.  27;  and  also  as  in  the  case  of 
the  little  horn-power  of  chap.  8.  See  chap.  8:  17,  19. This  por- 
tion, vs.  36-45,  must  certainly  belong  to  the  same  history  and  the 
same  personage  as  the  portion  that  precedes — Antiochus  Epiphanes 
being  tlie  grand  persecutor  throughout.  Why  he  prospers  at  all, 
and  how  long  he  prospers,  are  important  data.  They  are  the  same 
in  the  portion  before  this  line  and  in  the  portion  after  it;  therefore 
this  line  is  only  a  fiction.  There  can  be  no  legitimate  cutting  asun- 
der of  the  narrative  here. (5.)  As  already  shown,  this  prophecy 

throughout  the  portion  vs.  21-45  applies  aptly  to  Antiochus  Epipha- 
nes. History  confirms  this  application  of  the  prophecy.  The  same 
can  not  be  shoAvn  of  any  other  person. 

3.  The  thread  of  this  prophetico-historic  sketch  can  not  be 
cut  at  V.  40,  and  the  portion,  vs.  40-45,  be  applied  to  some  other 

person  or  power.     AVliy  not? (1.)  Because  the  king  of  the  north 

must  be  the  same  here  as  before,  this  phrase  being  absolutely  ap- 
propriated throughout  this  chapter  to  the  kings  of  Syria.  So  of  the 
king  of  the  south,  who  has  precisely  this  designation  twice  in  v.  25. 

(2.)  "The  time  of  the  end"  must  be  the  same  period  repeatedly 

referred  to  both  in  this  chapter  and  in  chap.  8.     This  phrase  limits 

the  events  to  the  same  period  of  time. (3.)  This  passage  is  in 

fact  a  resume — a  recapitulation  of  the  deeds  of  Antiochus;  and 
tliercfore  can  not  be  severed  from  the  previous  portions  of  this 
projAecy  repecting  him  without  the  utmost  caprice  and  violence. 
(4.)  It  is  reasonable  to  expect  some  notice  of  the  death  of  An- 
tiochus;— the  more  so  because  the  death  of  each  of  the  two  kings 
next  before  him  is  noticed;  and  yet  the  more  so  because  the  pre- 
vious and  parallel  visions  (chap.  7:  9-11,  26,  and  cliap.  8:  25)  show 
that  his  death  was  extraordinary — ^by  some  superhuman  agency,  in- 
volving special  judgments  from  God.  If  we  sever  oil'  this  last  por- 
tion, we  refer  this  striking  account  of  his  death  (v.  45)  to  somebody 

else — violently. (5.)  We  must  have  the  same  Antiochus  in  chap. 

12,  as  will  be  seen  when  we  reach  it;  therefore  we  can  not  legiti- 
mately part  company  with  him  here  at  v.  40,  and  give  the  rest  of 

tliis  chapter  to  some  other  person  or  power. Tliese  points  may 

serve  as  a  scries  of  hints  at  the  dilliculties  and  the  violations  of 
sound  criticism  which  are  involved  in  any  and  every  attempt  to 
sever  this  portion  (vs.  21-45)  and  to  give  any  part  of  it  to  another 
personage. 

There  is  yet  another  modification  of  the  same  thing  which 
reiiuires  a  brief  notice.     Some  are  understood  to  hold   that  this 

In-ophecy  does  indeed  begin  with  Antiochus  at  v.  21,  and  go  on  with 
lim  a  little  way  more  or  less ;  and  then  shade  off  into  some  other 
great  Antichrist,  losing  sight  at  length  of  Antiochus  altogether. 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  XI.  445 

I  can  see  no  reason  for  such  an  interpretation.  No  such  departure 
from  the  obvious  historic  sense  of  such  language  should  be  allowed 
save  under  the  sternest  demands  of  necessity ;  e.  e.^  because  the  his- 
toric sense  is  obviously  inadmissil)le  throughout. But  on  what 

ground  is  this  construction  given  to  the  passage  vs.  21-45,  or  to  any 
portion  of  it?  Is  it  claimed  that  here  are  things  that  can  not  bo 
applied  to  Antiochus  Epiphanes  ?     If  so,  the  claim  is  made  without 

reason.     It  is  an  entire  mistake. Is  it  claimed  that  there  are 

clear  intimations  of  this  shading  off  into  some  unknown  Antichrist  ? 
How  can  that  be  known  if  indeed  this  supposed  Antichrist  be  yet 
unknoivn  and  wholly  in  the  future?  And  what  are  those  indica- 
tions? Where  do  we  leave  the  veritable  Antiochus,  of  flesh  and 
blood,  and  where  does  the  unknown  Antichrist  begin  to  appear? 
What  signs  herald  his  approach  ?     AVliat  word  or  phrase  indicates 

the  transition  from  the  one  to  the  other  ? Such  questions  as  these 

should  be  answered  somewhat  definitely  before  we  sacrifice  the 
laws  of  grammatical  construction  and  the  connecting  bonds  of  his- 
toric and  logical  thought,  and  ignore  the  strong  proofs  of  precise 

historic  fulfillment  in  this  great  persecutor  of  the  saints. If  the 

reference  of  this  passage  to  some  other  Antichrist  means  only  that 
moral  lessons  may  be  drawn  from  the  prophetic  and  the  actual  his- 
tory of  Antiochus  Epiphanes  and  applied  to  some  other  great  Anti- 
christ, very  well.  This  is  a  very  harmless  thing.  Indeed  it  is  better 
than  merely  harmless :  it  may  be  made  very  useful.  No  doubt  the 
same  God  who  put  a  hook  in  the  nose  of  this  great  Antichrist  will 
do  the  same  by  every  other.  The  same  God  who  used  him  for  the 
discipline  and  purifying  of  his  ancient  church  will  use  every  other 
as  he  may  choose  for  the  same  ends,  making  the  wi'atli  of  man  work 
out  his  own  praise.  And  the  same  God  who  protected  his  chosen 
people,  then,  through  that  fearful  storm  of  persecution,  and  made 
'those  fires  the  salvation  of  his  trustful  children,  will  be  no  less  wise 
and  no  less  good  when  the  next  great  persecution  shall  be  sent  on 
the  same  mission.  He  who  loveth  Zion  will  never,  let  the  fires  of 
persecution  burn  too  hotly  or  miss  their  intended  result  of  purifica- 
tion to  his  people  and  triumph  to  his  kingdom. Before  I  pass 

from  the  subject  of  diverse  and  opposing  views  upon  this  chapter, 
I  must  say  briefly  that  I  recollect  only  tkree  reasons  assigned  for 
applying  any  portion  of  our  passage  (vs.  21-45)  to  any  other  than 
Antiochus;  viz.:  (1.)  That  some  of  it  docs  not  apply  historically  to 

Antiochus;  which  I  hold  to  be  a  mistake. (2.)  That  the  course 

of  thought  in  the  chapter  must  bring  us  down  to  the  millennium, 
or  to  the  end  of  the  world,  because  the  resurrection  comes  in  early 

in  the  next  chapter. The  mistake  of  this  assumption  it  will  be 

in  place  to  show  under  chap.  12. (3.)  And  finally,  that  prophecy 

in  this  same  eleventh  chapter  makes  a  long  stride  from  Xerxes  to 
Alexander,  and  therefore  we  are  justified  in  making  other  historic 

strides,  wherever  it  may  seem  good  to  us  to  make  them. To 

which  f  answer ;  That  leap  from  Xerxes  to  Alexander  has  its  own  good 
and  sufficient  reasons.  Every  other  should  have  reasons  equally 
good.     That  was  not  indeed  a  chronological  connection ;  but  it  was 


446  DANIEL.— CHAP.  XII. 

precisely  logical — the  relation  of  cause  and  effect,  and  therefore 
by  no  means  justifies  chronological  chasms  except  on  like  valid 
grounds. 


CHAPTER  XII. 


This  chapter  speaks  of  a  time  of  extraordinary  trouble,  from 
which,  however,  the  people  "written  in  the  book  of  life"  shall  be 
delivered  (v.  1) ;  alludes  to  the  resurrection  and  to  the  eternal  retri- 
bution of  the  righteous  and  .the  wicked  (vs.  2,  3) ;  directs  Daniel 
to  seal  up  the  vision  against  the  time  of  the  end  (vs.  4,  9) ;  gives 
designations  of  time  (vs.  5-12),  and  finally  assures  Daniel  that  he 
shall  have  his  lot  with  the  righteous  (v.  13). 

Widely  various  opinions  have  been  held  as  to  the  scope  of  this 
chapter.  Its  true  interpretation  must  turn  very  much  upon  the  ques- 
tion whether  it  is  so  connected  with  the  previous  chapter  and  with 
the  entire  body  of  Daniel's  four  great  parallel  visions  as  to  determine 
its  reference  to  the  same  series  of  events,  and  of  course  to  the  same 

age  of  the  world. A  class  of  modern  English  expositors  assume 

that  the  close  of  chap.  II  brought  us  down  to  the  latter  part  of 
this  nineteenth  century;  that  in  this  twelfth  chapter,  we  enter  upon 
the  very  last  age  of  time ;  reach  the  resurrection  in  its  chronological 
order,  v.  2,  and  the  glorified  state  of  the  righteous  (most  of  them 
would  say  iipon  this  earth)  at  "  the  time  of  the  end  "  of  these  earthly 

scenes. Whether  this  is,  or  is  not,  the  true  interpretation,  will 

turn  (as  above  suggested)  very  much  upon  the  sort  of  connection 
which  obtains  between  this  chapter  and  the  eleventh,  and  also  the 
other  parallel  visions.  Let  us  then  begin  with  examining  this 
point. 

1.  And  at  that  time  shall  Michael  stand  up,  the  great 
prince  which  standeth  for  the  children  of  thy  people ;  and 
there  shall  be  a  time  of  trouble,  such  as  never  was  since 
there  was  a  nation  even  to  that  same  time :  and  at  that 
time  thy  people  shall  be  clelivered,  every  one  that  shall  be 
found  written  in  the  book. 

2.  And  many  of  them  that  sleeji  in  the  dust  of  the  earth 
shall  awake,  some  to  everlasting  life,  and  some  to  shame 
and  everlasting  contempt. 

3.  And  they  that  be  wise  shall  shine  as  the  brightness  of 
the  firmament;  and  they  that  turn  many  to  righteousness 
as  the  stars  forever  and  ever. 

4.  But  thou,  O  Daniel,  shut  up  the  words,  and  seal  the 
book,  even  to  the  time  of  the  end:  many  shall  run  to  and 
fro,  and  knowledge  shall  be  increased. 

5.  Then  I  Daniel  looked,  and  behold,  there  stood  other 


DANIEL. -CHAP.  XII.  447 

two,  the  one  on  this  side  of  the  bank  of  the  river,  and  the 
other  on  that  side  of  the  bank  of  the  river. 

6.  And  one  said  to  the  man  clothed  in  linen,  wliich  was 
upon  the  waters  of  the  river.  How  long  shall  it  he  to  the 
end  of  these  wonders  ? 

7.  And  I  heard  the  man  clothed  in  linen,  which  loas 
upon  the  waters  of  the  river,  when  he  held  up  his  right 
hand  and  his  left  hand  unto  heaven,  and  sware  by  him  that 
liveth  forever,  that  it  shall  he  for  a  time,  times,  and  a  half  ; 
and  when  he  shall  haVe  accomplished  to  scatter  the  power 
of  the  holy  people,  all  these  things  shall  be  finished. 

8.  And  I  heard,  but  I  understood  not :  then  said  I,  O  my 
lord,  what  shall  he  the  end  of  these  things  f 

9.  And  he  said.  Go  thy  way,  Daniel:  for  the  words  are 
closed  up  and  sealed  till  the  time  of  the  end. 

10.  Many  shall  be  purified,  and  made  white,  and  tried ; 
but  the  wicked  shall  do  wickedly :  and  none  of  the  wicked 
shall  understand;  but  the  wise  shall  understand. 

11.  And  from  the  time  that  the  daily  sacrifice  shall  be 
taken  away,  and  the  abomination  that  maketli  desolate  set 
up,  there  shall  he  a  thousand  two  hundred  and  ninety  days. 

12.  Blessed  is  he  that  waiteth,  and  cometh  to  the  thou- 
sand three  hundred  and  five  and  thirty  days. 

13.  But  go  thou  thy  way  till  the  end  he:  for  thou  shalt 
rest,  and  stand  in  thy  lot  at  the  end  of  the  days. 

The  very  first  verse  begins  with  saying  that  these  events  occur 
"a^  that  time,"  i  e.,  at  the  same  time  of  which  the  previous  chapter 
speaks,  especially  the  time  when  those  scenes  of  violent  persecution 
of  the  Jews  took  place,  noticed  specially  vs.  31-35.  This  alone 
should  go  far  to  decide  our  main  question.  A  time  of  great  trouble 
had  been  already  indicated ;  it  is  resumed  and  reaffirmed  here  for 

the  sake  of  further  remark  upon  it. "Shall  Michael  stand  up," 

etc.  But  this  Michael  has  been  already  introduced  to  us,  and  in 
precisely  the  same  relations,  "standing  up  for  thy  people" — the 
Jewish  nation,  considered  as  the  Lord's  chosen  ones,  and  also  as 
being  somewhat  under  Daniel's  care  also.  See  chap.  10:  13,  21. 
"  Stand  up,"  is  a  favorite  phrase  with  Daniel  in  the  sense  of  arous- 
ing on-e's  self  to  earnest  help,  often  with  military  power,  force  of 
arms.     Hence  the  view  of,  some  that  this  Michael  is  the  Messiah, 

must  be  wrong. At  that  time  "  thy  people  shall  be  delivered  :" — 

but  ^'' till/ people"  has  become  the  established  phrase  for  the  Jews 
considered  as  under  the  patronage  of  Daniel,  and  hence  accounted 
his  people,  yet  none  the  less  the  chosen  people  of  God.     See  chap. 

10:    14  and  9:   24. In  v.  3,  "they  that  be  wise"     ["the  mas- 

chilim"]  are  plainly  the  same  whom  we  saw  in  chap.  11:  33,  35, 
there  rendered,  "they  that  understand;"  "them  of  understanding;" 


448  DANIEL.— CHAP.  XII.  . 

but  in  tliG  Hebrew  precisely  the  same  word,  "the  maschiliin." 

111  V.  4  the  direction  to  "shut  up  the  words  and  to  seal  the  book," 
reminds  us  that  the  same  direction  was  given  for  the  third  vision 
(chap.  8:  26),  and  that  "the  time  of  the  end"  has  been  repeatedly 
before  us  (in  chap.  8:  17,  19,  and  11:  27,  35,  40),  and  practically 
in  chap.  11:  26  also,  plainly  showing  that  these  events  and  those, 
boini!;  brought  within  the  same  limitations  of  time,  are  substantially 
idcnFical.-^ — In  v.  6  "these  wonders"  can  be  none  other  than 
those  which  have  been  presented  in  the  preceding  parallel  visions. 
There  are  no  other  to  which  the  phrase  can  refer.  Chap.  8 :  24, 
says  "he  shall  destroy  wonderfully" — the  same  Hebrew  word  as 

liQi'Q, In  V.  7  "the  holy  people,"  must  be  the  same  as  before  in 

chap.  11:  32-35;  the  same  as  "the  host  and  the  stars"  of  chap. 
8:  10-13,  and  "the  mighty  and  the  holy  people"  whom  he  "shall 
destroy"  (chap.  8:  24),  and  "the  saints  of  the  Most  High  "  (chap.  7: 
25).     And  the  duration,  three  and  a  half  years,  is  precisely  the 

same  as  in  chap.  7:  25. In  vs.  8,  9,  Daniel  says  he  does  not  yet 

understand  all  he  would  of  these  things,  just  as  he  had  said  before, 
chap.  8:  27. — ■. — The  revealing  angel  speaks  here  also  of  "the  time 
of  the  end" — a  phrase  with  which  we  are  already  entirely  familiar, 
and  which  connects  these  disclosures  most  perfectly  with  those  of 
the  previous  part  of  this  vision  and  with  those  of  the  t)ther  visions 

parallel  to  this. The  allusions  in  v.   10  to  "the  wise"  carry  us 

to  chap.  11 :  35,  while  the  case  of  the  wicked  corresponds  with  the 

view  given  of  the  apostates  in  chap.  11:  30,  32. In  v.  11  "the 

taking  away  of  the  daily  sacrifice  and  the  setting  up  of  the  abomi- 
nation that  maketh  desolate,"  can  not- possibly  be  separated  from 
the  same  thing  put  in  the  same  words,  chap.  11:  31,  chap.  8:  11, 
and  also  in  suj)stance  in  chap.  7 :  25.  There  is  therefore  the  most 
alnindant  evidence  of  the  closest  connection  between  this  chapter, 
on  the  one  hand,  and  the  eleventh,  and  also  the  parallel  visions  of 
chaps.  7  and  8,  on  the  other.  The  events  referred  to  are  the  very 
same ;  the  time  of  their  occurrence  is  the  same.  The  bonds  of 
pliilological  connection  are  of  the  very  strongest  kind.  It  would 
seem  to  be  simply  impossible  for  one  accustomed  to  study,  observe 
and  obey  the  laws  of  philology,  and  to  interpret  language  in  view 
of  2vhai  it  is,  to  have  even  the  least  doubt  on  this  point. 

The  way  is  now  open  for  the  special  exposition  of  the  chapter. 

^I'o  the  first  verse  we  have   only  to  give  the  obvious   sense, 

already  made  plain  by  its  manifest  allusion  to  things  previously  in- 
troduced.  "At  that  time,"  must  be  near  the  time  of  the  death  of 

Antiochus,  with  which  the  previous  chapter  closed. "Michael," 

we  know  already  as  the  great  archangel-protector  of  the  Jewish 
peo])le.  "  The  children  of  thy  people,"  have  been  sufficiently  iden- 
tified as  the  Jews — thought  of  in  their  peculiar  relations  to  Daniel. 
This  "time  of  trouble"  is  the  same  terrible  persecution  which  An- 
tiochus waged  against  the  pious  Jews — as  we  saw  in  the  vision  of 
the  seventh  chapter;  also  in  that  of  the  eighth,  and  in  that  of  the 
eleventh.  Dut  "  at  that  time  thy  people  shall  be  delivered,  every 
one  found  written  in  the  book,"  i.  e.,  of  life — the  book  which  records 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  XII.  449 

those  destined  to  life.  This  "book"  appears  in  Ps.  69:  28,  "Let 
them  be  blotted  out  of  the  book  of  the  living,  and  not  be  written 
with  the  righteous."  The  earliest  Scriptural  reference  to  this  "  book  " 
is  from  Moses  (Ex.  32:  32),  "If  not,  blot  me,  I  pray  thee,  out  of 
thy  book  which  thou  hast  written."  The  thought  seems  to  be  of  a 
book  of  God's  own  purposes,  in  which  he  records  the  names  of 
those   who   live — this  life  being  supposed  to  be  a  good  from  the 

hand  of  God. This  second  verse  I  understand  to  allude  to  the 

literal  resurrection.     But  the  manner  and  purpose  of  this  alhision 

should  be  closely  studied. Negatively,  the  revealing  angel  does 

not  allude  to  it,  because  his  prophetic  narrative  has  reached  the 
literal  resurrection  in  its  chronological  order;  i.  e.,  has  brought 
down  the  world's  history  to  that  point.  This  is  simply  impossible 
in  view  of  the  manifest  connection  of  this  entire  cliapter  with  the 
previous  parallel  visions,  and  especially  with  chap.  J.1.  Nor  does  he 
allude  to  it  for  the  sake  of  teaching  the  doctrine  of  the  general  resur- 
rection as  a  new  truth.  For  he  does  not  here  affirm  or  even  imply 
a  general  universal  resurrection.  He  does  not  say  "  all  that  are  in 
their  graves  shall  hear  his  voice  and  shall  come  forth."  It  remained 
for  the  great  Author  of  the  resurrection  to  make  the  first  full  an- 
nouncement of  the  universal  resurrection.  All  that  is  said  here  is 
that  '^mariT/,"  not  all,  but  "many  out  of  those  that  sleep  in  the  dust 
shall  wake  to  a  new  life."  Yet  again,  the  an.gel  does  not  affirm 
that  then,  at  thai  time,  many  shall  arise.     He  might  have  said  this; 

probably  would  if  he  had  meant  so.     But  he  did  not  say  this. 

Positively;  in  my  view  the  resurrection  is  suggested  here  because 
of  its  relations  to  eternal  retribution.  So  the  last  clause  of  this 
verse  and  also  v.  3  would  indicate.  This  eternal  retribution  is  sug- 
gested by  his  thought  of  the  noble  Maccabean  heroes,  on  the  one 
hand,  and  of  the  vile  apostates  from  their  Jewish  faith  and  of  the 
eruel  Syrian  persecutors,  on  the  other.  To  see  holiness  and  sin  in 
such  intensive  forms ;  to  see  some  men  so  nobly  good  and  others  so 
meanly  and  malignantly  wicked,  naturally  leads  the  mind  to  eter- 
nal retribution,  llemember  (the  revealing  angel  would  say),  re- 
member for  your  consolation  and  for  the  relief  of  your  burdened 
heart,  that  God  is  surely  just,  and  that  his  justice  will  not  sleep 
forever.  There  will  be  a  glorious  reward  for  the  righteous;  and 
prominent  among  these  will  be  the  righteous  dead  who  "  fell  by  the 
sword,  by  flame,  by  captivity,  and  by  spoil  for  mapy  days"  (chap. 
11 :  33).  There  vnll  also  be  a  fearful  doom  of  shame  and  everlast- 
ing contempt  for  those  guilty  apostates  and  their  cruel  Syrian  as- 
sociates who  inflict  these  sufferings  on  the  faithful  servants  of  God. 
That  this  is  the  very  thought  of  the  revealing  angel  is  made  yet 
more  sure  by  v.  3,  where  he  refers  explicitly  to  those  nolde  JcAvish 
martyrs;  "they  that  be  wise;"  (in  Ilcb.  "the  maschilim")  the 
very  name  given  them  in  chap.  11 :  33,  35.  Those  who  suffered  so 
heroically  and  labored  so  earnestly  to  turn  their  Jewish  brethren 
from  idolatry  to  righteousness  "shall  shine  as  the  brightness  of  the 
'firmament  and  as  the  stars  forever  and  ever."  They  stood  and  fell 
us   "stars" — distinguished   servants    of  God.      See   chap.    8:    10. 


450  DANIEL.— CHAP.  XII. 

Now  their  joyous  reward  shall   be  to  shine  as  the  stars  in  the 

glorious  lirmament  of  heaven  forever  and  ever. This  explanation 

of  a  passage,  usually  accounted  very  difficult,  seems  to  me  to  be 
entirely  satisfactory.  The  thought  of  final  eternal  retribution  is 
certainly  altogether  in  place  here  in  view  of  the  circumstances. 
It  was  legitimately  reached  through  the  resurrection.  This  great  fact 
of  our  being  was  neither  new  nor  strange  to  the  people  of  God  in  that 
age.  The  allusion,  in  Isaiah  2G  and  Ezekicl  37  to  the  resurrection, 
and  especially  the  use  made  of  it  as  a  figure  of  speech,  show  that 
the  idea  was  by  no  means  unknown — was  even  familiar.  Hence 
his  casual  allusion  to  it,  with  no  effort  to  state  the  doctrine  of  a 
universal  resurrection  in  its  full  rounded  form. Some  may  per- 
haps ask,  by  way  of  objection  to  this  construction.  Why  did  not 
the  angel  give  a  more  just,  clear,  and  full  view  of  the  general  res- 
urrection?  The   answer  is  simply,  It  was  not  his  purpose  to 

teach  this  doctrine  in  its  dogmatic  form.  He  could  not  turn  aside 
from  the  subject  before  him  to  give  theological  lectures  (may  not  I 
say?)  on  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection.  .  He  wanted  the  thouglit 
of  it  only  for  its  relation  to  the  subject  he  had  iti  hand,  and  he 
therefore  used  it  for  this  purpose  and  for  this  only.  This  is  pre- 
cisely as  every  waiter  or  speaker  does  whose  mind  is  full  of  his 

subject. Moreover,  these  views   as   presented   and  left  by  the 

angel-interpreter  must  have  been  full  of  the  richest  consolation  and 
quickening  as  read  by  those  Maccabean  heroes  while  they  were  nobly 
doing,  daring,  suffering,  dying  for  the  faith  of  their  fathers'  God. 
They  are  good  to  be  read  even  now  by  all  who  live,  labor,  and  endure 

unto  the  same  high  example  of  suffering  afiliction  and  of  patience. 

In  v.  4  the  "shutting  up  and  sealing  of  the  book"  until  near  the 
time  when  the  events  should  occur  seems  to  imply  that  men  will 
have  less  interest  in  it  during  the  intervening  period,  and  a  far 
deeper  interest  when  that  time  shall  have  come,  so  that  it  will  be 

read  then;    would  be  read   but  little  before. Some  have  said 

(with  less  probability).  Men  will  misinterpret  prophecy  until  the 
near  approaching  or  actually  transpiring  events  shall  shed  their 

light  upon  it;    therefore  shut  it  up  "till  the  time  of  the  end." 

"Many  shall  run  to  and  fro;"  coursing  through  the  book,  travers- 
ing it  from  point  to  point,  comparing  one  vision  with  another  (as 
my  aim  has  been  in  this  commentary)  to  get  a  clear  and  just  view 
of  it  as  a  whole ;  so,  the  knowledge  of  it  shall  be  greatly  increased. 
The  word  for  "knowledge"  has  the  article  in  Hebrew,  and  seems 

to  refer  to  the  knowledge  of  the  contents  of  this  prophecy. In 

vs.  5-7  it  will  be  noted  that  the  manner  of  bringing  out  the  point 
to  be  revealed  is  by  causing  Daniel  to  hear  a  conversation  between 
two  angels,  standing  remote  from  each  other,  one  on  either  bank  of 
the  river.  The  question,  "How  long  to  the  end  of  these  wonderful 
things?"  asks  for  the  duration  of  the  chief  transactions;  here  man- 
ifestly, as  in  chap.  7 :  25,  the  length  of  time  during  which  the  wor- 
ship of  God's  people  at  the  temple  would  be  broken  up  by  the 
violence  of  this  impious  persecutor.  In  the  answer,  the  phrase, 
^'  time,  times,  and  a  half,"  must  be  construed  (as  in  chap.  7 :  25)  to 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  XII.  451 

be  three  and  a  half  years.  Then,  Avhcn  the  power  of  the  holy  peo- 
ple shall  have  been  scattered  and  broken ;  themselves  humbled  and 
thrown  upon  God  for  help;  shall  these  things  be  finished.  See 
notes  on  chap.  7 :  25. Daniel  does  not  yet  understand  so  defi- 
nitely as  he  would,  and  therefore  asks  again  what  shall  be  the 
end  of  these  things.  The  form  of  his  question  and  his  choice  of 
words  (  What  rather  than  When) ;  and  his  word  rendered  "  end," 
the  afiei'  part,  the  result  or  conclusion,  seem  to  indicate  a  some- 
what wider  range  than  simply  the  idea  of  duration.  That  is,  he 
asks  not  merely  hoio  long,  but  what  shall  be  the  issues ;  including, 
however,  the  length  of  time.  Consequently  the  answer  teaches 
both  points;  first  indicating  that  the  words  arc  closed  and  sealed 
up  till  the  time  of  the  end,  and  therefore  will  not  be  much  known 
till  near  that  time  ;  next,  that  active  agencies  of  moral  discipline  will 
surely  do  their  work,  some  being  made  better  and  some  made  worse 
by  these  events  of  God's  providence:  also  that  "the  wise,"  the  stu- 
dious, humble  and  docile,  shall  readily  understand,  but  none  of  the 
wicked,  for  their  sin  darkens  their  intellect  while  it  sears  their  con- 
science and  hardens  their  heart. Next  as  to  the  time.     It  has 

been  twice  put  at  three  and  one-half  years,  in  obviously  very  gen- 
eral terms — "a  time,  times,  and  the  dividing  of  times,"  or  "a  half." 
Hence  in  answer  to  a  question  for  the  more  precise  time,  we  may 
expect  greater  precision.  I  therefore  take  this  answer,  twelve 
hundred  and  ninety  days,  to  be  a  more  accurate  stiitement  of  the 
time.  The  terminus  fro7n  which  this  period  dates  is  plain,  viz : 
"  from  the  taking  away  of  the  daily  sacrifice  and  the  setting  up  of 
the  abomination  that  maketh  desolate" — from  either  of  these,  and 
if  they  difiered  in  time,  from  the  earliest.  The  terminus  down  to 
which  the  period  comes  and  at  which  it  closes  should  doubtless  be 
the  point  where  the  sanctuary  was  cleansed  and  the  Mosaic  sacri- 
fices were  resumed.  The  books  of  Maccabees  give  this  latter  date 
Avith  precision.  Both  1  Mac.  4:  52-54,  and  2  Mac.  1:  9,  18,  and 
10:  5,  aflSrm  that  the  cleansing  of  the  sanctuary  took  place  on  the 
twenty-fifth  day  of  the  month  Casleu  (corresponding  to  December) 
in  the  one  hundred  and  forty-eighth  year  of  the  Seleucida3,  which 
corresponds  to  B.  C.  1G4.  The  other  terminus  from  ivhich  to  count 
is  less  distinctly  marked.  There  is  no  doubt  as  to  the  time  Avlicn 
the  idol-altar  was  set  up  on  the  sacred  one,  nor  as  to  the  time 
when  the  heathen  began  to  offer  idol  sacrifices  upon  it.  The  former 
was  Dec.  10,  167  B.  C. ;  the  latter  Dec.  25,  following.  But  the 
daily  sacrifice  must  have  been  taken  away  a  considerable  time — 
not  less  than  six  months — earlier.  For  it  was  very  early  in  June, 
167  B.  C.  that  Antiochus  returned  from  Egypt,  and  sent  Apollonius 
with  a  strong  force  into  Judea.  lie  seized  Jerusalem  and  put  a  stop 
to  the  temple  worship.  Josephus  distinctly  states  in  two  passages 
that  the  daily  sacrifices  were  suspended  three  and  a  half  years. 
See  notes  on  Dan.  7.  Now  three  and  a  half  years  include  accu- 
rately 1279  days,  lacking  only  eleven  of  the  number  here  given. 
Possibly  this  number  1290  may  l)e  somewhat  a  round  number;  or 
more  probably  the  three  and  a  half  years  is  the  less  exact  date  and 


452  DANIEL.— CHAP.  XII. 

this  of  1290  days  the  more  exact.  The  number  may  have  been 
precisely  1200  days;  i.  e.^  eleven  days  over  three  and  a  half  years. 
It  should  be  remembered  that  Daniel  has  novv^here  used  the  desi^i^- 
nation,  12G0  days,  and  though  it  is  common  loosely  to  estimate  the 
year  at  360  days,  yet  this  is  a  round  and  not  an  exact  number. 
'J'iie  years  were  then  as  long  as  they  are  now,  and  we  very  well 
understand  that  we  now  find  in  the  long  run  about  365|-  days  in 
each  year.  Hence  the  above  calculation. — — This  reaches  as  high 
a  degree  of  accuracy  as  can  be  expected,  under  the  general  methods 

of  time-computation  which  prevailed  in  that  age. In  v.  12  still 

another  period  is  given,  viz.:  1335  days;  45  days  longer  than  the 
preceding.  There  can  be  but  little  doubt  that  this  dates  from  the 
same  point  of  time,  and  therefore  runs  over  one  month  and  a  half 
beyond  the  cleansing  of  the  sanctuary,  which  would  bring  us 
nearly  to  the  middle  of  February,  B.  C.  163,  Nor  can  there  be  any 
doubt  that  it  looks  to  the  death  of  Antiochus  as  the  joyful  event 

which  then  occurred. Both  the  first  and  tlie  second  books  of 

Maccabees  give  some  details  of  his  death ;  but  neither  has  given  the 
day.  It  is  not  strange  that  they  omifc  it.  1  Mac.  6 :  1-16,  gives 
the  year,  the  one  hundred  and  forty-ninth  year  of  the  Seleucidas; 
equal  to  B.  C.  163.  It  also  gives  us  the  means  of  estimating  yet 
more  definitely  the  exact  time,  for  it  states  that  Antiochus,  being 
in  the  remote  countries  of  Persia,  heard  of  the  victories  of  Judas 
over  his  armies  in  Palestine,  and  of  the  cleansing  of  the  sanctuary, 
which  occurred,  as  we  may  remember,  Dec.  25,  164  B.  C,  and  that 
the  Jews  had  compassed  the  sanctuary  about  with  high  walls  as 
before.  These  tidings  aflected  him  greatly,  and  indeed  induced 
him  to  set  off  at  once  for  home,  and  brought  on  the  fall  from  his 
chariot  and  the  violent  sickness  of  which  he  died.  Now  if  we 
allow  a  reasonable  time  for  this  news  to  reach  him,  and  for  the 
journey,  the  fall  and  the  sickness,  which  preceded  his  death,  we 
shall  find  that  forty-five  days  is  a  fair  estimate.  The  testimony  of 
the  second  book  of  Maccabees  (chap.  9)  corresponds  with  that  of 

the  first  book  in  these  particulars,  as  far  as  it  goes. Well  might 

the  revealing  angel  say,  "Blessed  is  he  that  waiteth"  in  patient 
hope  so  long,  for  there  would  be  great  joy  over  the  death  of  that 

arch  enemy  of  the  people  of  God. V.   13,   closing  the  vision, 

directs  Daniel  to  go  on  his  accustomed  path  of  life,  and  assures 
him  that  he  shall  rest  from  his  labors  and  share  at  last  in  the 
blessed  lot  of  the  risen  saints,  as  had  been  said  vs.  2,  3  of  the 
martyrs  of  the  Maccabean  age.  This  Avill  be  the  precise  sense  if 
we  take  "stand  in  thy  lot"  to  mean  arise  from  the  dead  to  thy  re- 
ward. Most  of  the  commentators  and  lexicons  give  this  sense  to 
the  words  in  this  passage.  I  account  it  the  most  probable  sense. 
But  yet  I  find  no  other  case  in  which  this  verb  "stand"  means  to 
rise  from  the  dead.  It  may  therefore  mean  only,  Thou  shalt  be 
in  thy  place  (the  intermediate  place  of  departed  saints)  at  the  end 
of  these  days  of  trouble  upon  thy  people.  In  so  far  as  a  tacit  al- 
lusion to  vs.  2,  3  is  probable,  the  sense  of  resurrection  becomes  so. 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  XII.  453 

Neither  construction  seems  bad.  Either  corresponds  with  the 
facts,  and  is  pertinent  to  the  closing  scene  of  this  vision. 

It  has  been  ah-eady  intimated  that  this  twelfth  chapter  is  built 
upon  the  eleventh,  assuming  the  facts  therein  stated,  and  aiming 
to  make  a  practical  application  of  those  fa(;ts  for  the  moral  benelit 
of  the  people  specially  interested.  We  shall  best  appreciate  tjie 
pertinence  and  force  of  this  practical  application,  if  we  transfer 
ourselves  back  to  those  times,  and  suppose  ourselves  to  be  among 
and  of  the  parties  affected,  or  at  least  to  be  observers  of  its  influ- 
ence upon  them.  Let  us  then  suppose  ourselves  to  be  there,  "  at 
the  time  of  the  end."  The  book  is  unsealed ;  the  words  long  shut 
up  are  now  opened.  Our  Jewish  brethren  Avho  have  been  looking 
with  alarm  on  the  apostacy  of  such  numbers  of  their  people  into 
Grecian  manners  and  idolatry,  are  now  well  assured  that  this  is 
the  hand  of  Almighty  God  and  this  the  time  of  his  indignation, 
and  they  tremble  for  the  results.  Alas!  the  sanctuary  is  dese- 
crated ;  that  wicked  persecutor  is  successful  in  his  most  wicked 
schemes;  thousands  of  their  brethren  have  ftillen  in  battle  already; 
women  have  seen  their  children  tortured  and  have  themselves  suf- 
fered tortures  worse  than  death;  immense  armies  have  swept 
through  their  land  and  have  made  their  own  Zion-hill  their  strong- 
hold. Now  conceive  how  they  read  this  twelfth  chapter.  "At  that 
time  shall  Michael  stand  up,  the  great  prince  that  standeth  for  thy 

people."      Precious  words !      God's  help   shall   come  ! "  There 

shall  be  a  time  of  trouble  such  as  never  was  before  since  there 
Avas  a  nation  " — a  truth  they  well  understand,  for  they  have  felt  it 
in  the  anguish  of  their  souls.  Judah  and  Jerusalem  have  never 
l)efore  passed  through  such  an  ordeal  of  fire  and  flame,  of  blood 
and  torture  and  desolation.  But  pause;  What  is  this  that  comes 
next?  "At  that  time  thy  people  shall  be  delivered,"  "every  one  that 
shall  be  found  written  in  the  book."  Blessed  words  are  these! 
Then  this  desolation  shall  cease  erelong,  and  this  fearful  Persecutor 
will  not  utterly  blot  out  the  name  and  memorial  of  God's  people 
from  under  heaven.  The  kingdom  and  people  of  the  great  God  Avill 
survive  and  will  yet  see  better  days !  And  then  these  next  words, 
how  much  in  point  are  they!  Our  martyrs  dead  are  "not  lost  but 
only  gone  before."  Not  one  of  them  will  lose  his  reward.  How 
will  our  good  Mattathias  and  Eleazar  shine  as  stars  in  the  firma- 
ment forever  and  ever !  And  those  apostates,  too,  are  to  have  their 
eternal  reward — of  shame  and  contempt !  They  sought  the  glory 
that  comes  from  men.  God  gave  them  the  disgrace  that  goes  forth 
with  his  unutterable  reprobation !  And  so  they  read  on  through 
this  subsequent  record  of  dates,  pondering  deeply  how  long  it  shall 
be  to  the  end  of  tliese  wonders.  They  arc  glad  the  time  can  be 
counted  hij  days.  They  rejoice  to  find  that  the  time  of  thickest 
darkness  is  only  three  and  a  half  years.  So  long,  they  say,  our  suf- 
fering people  can  hold  out.  Let  us  bless  God  that  he  gave  us,  cen- 
turies ago,  a  prophet  by  whom  he  might  tell  us  how  long.  "  Jilessed 
is  he  that  waiteth  and  cometh  to  the  one  thousand  three  hundred 
and  thirty-five  days !  "     Ah,  indeed !  and  will  our  great  persecutor 


454  DANIEL.— CHAP.  XII. 

fall — that  great  king  who  vowed  in  his  wrath  to  make  Jerusalem 
one  vast  burying-place  for  our  nation — is  he  so  soon  to  be  cut  down 
in  his  horrid  wickedness,  and  leave  the  land  we  love  to  breathe 

again  in  freedom? So  we  may  suppose  this  chapter  to  be  read 

and  read  again.  So  ii^n  will  course  through  and  through  its  pre- 
cious words,  and  here  they  will  get  more  and  more  knowledge  of 
God  and  of  their  own  eventful  future.  Verily,  God  has  been  mind- 
ful of  them  in  making  his  servant  Daniel,  long  time  before,  his  mes- 
senger and  scribe  to  convey  and  record  such  words  of  comfort  and 
strength  against  their  time  of  so  great  need  !  The  prophecies  of 
Daniel  in  respect  to  this  "wearing  out  of  the  saints  of  the  Most 
High,"  could  not  be  complete  without  this  closing  chapter.  The 
people  would  need  these  timely,  precious  words,  assuring  them  that 
Michael,  their  great  Prince,  would  stand  up  in  their  behalf;  that 
deliverance  could  not  be  long  delayed ;  that  eternal  glories  would 
wreathe  the  brows  of  their  martyred  dead,  and  equally  immortal 
shame  would  sink  to  infamy  their  guilty  persecutors ;  and  that  the 
time  of  their  sorest  afflictions  would  be  short.  So  they  will  come 
to  feel  a  tenfold  assurance  that  the  living  God  is  the  strength  and 
the  hope  of  his  people,  and  from  their  sorest  chastenings  will  bring 
them  forth  as  gold  seven  times  purified  by  the  fires  that  eat  its  dross 

away. And  who  can  tell  how  much  this  very  chapter  may  have 

done  to  create  such  faith,  courage,  and  heroism  as  that  of  the  lion- 
hearted  Judas  Maccabeus  !  Who  knows  how  much  it  sustained  the 
martyr-spirit  of  that  mother  who  saw  her  seven  sons  murdered  before 
her  eyes,  and  knew  that  her  own  torture  was  to  follow  if  she  would 
not  abjure  her  faith  and  her  God !  Such  doing,  daring,  and  suffer- 
ing need  the  ministry  of  words  of  cheer  and  hope  like  these.  Did 
not  God  prepare  this  ministry  for  those  hours  of  need  ? 

Some   special  objections  to  the  system   of  interpretation  here 

adopted  should  be  briefly  noticed. 1.  That  this  system  involves 

too  much  repetition.     What  can  be  the  use,  it  is  said,  of  so  much 

repetition? (1.)  I  might  answer;  Why  did  the  Lord  double  the 

symbols  to  Pharaoh  in  his  dreams  of  the  seven  years  of  plenty  and 
seven  of  famine,  giving  him  both  kine  and  corn  ?  The  facts  taught 
in  each  were  identically  the  same,  with  no  shade  of  difference.  Or 
why  did  he  reiterate  so  many  fiicts  respecting  the  Messiah  and  his 
coming  kingdom?     Why  does  he  ever  "give  line  upon  line  and 

precept  upon  precept?" (2.)  Again  I  answer;  Our  great  inquiry 

should  be  after  the  fact  rather  than  after  the  reasoyis  of  the  fact. 
The  fact  of  repetition  is  the  thing  for  us  to  decide.  If  it  be  a  fact, 
let  us  know  it,  and  then,  as  humble  learners,  use  it.  The  reason 
of  the  fact  is  quite  another  matter,  as  to  which  we  have  very  little 
responsibility  indeed.  It  would  be  very  unwise  for  us  to  reject  the 
proofs  of  the  fact  because  we  can  not  determine  satisfactorily  to 
ourselves  the  reasons  of  it. (3.)  The  fact  that  there  is  a  consid- 
erable degree  of  repetition,  no  sensible  commentator,  or  even  ordi- 
nary reader,  can  doubt.  In  each  of  the  four  visions  which  I  have 
claimed  to  be  in  their  great  points  parallel,  who  can  doubt  that  wo 
have  the  Medo-Persian  kingdom,  and  in  the  last  vision,  some  of  its 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  XII.  455 

particular  kings  ?  Who  has  ever  doubted  that  in  each  vision  of 
the  four,  we  have  the  Grecian  empire  of  Alexander,  and  as  the 
visions  become  much  more  specific  toward  the  close,  Alexander 
himself?  Who  has  ever  doubted  that  in  the  first  and  second 
visions  we  have  the  Chaldean  power?  There  is  some  repetition, 
then,  manifestly,  by  the  inevitable  admission  of  all  intelligent 
readers.  How  much  soever  any  one  objects  to  the  principle  of 
repetition  in  several  successive  prophecies,  he  can  not  deny  that  it 
is  here,  at  least  to  the  extent  just  indicated.  Through  the  first 
three  out  of  the  four  great  kingdoms,  there  must  be  parallelism. 
Hence  it  is  no  violation  of  the  established  analogy  of  these  visions 
to  find  essential  parallelism  in  the  remaining  fourth  kingdom. 
Those  who  claim  this  have  the  manifest  analogy  of  the  first  three 

of  the  four  in  their  favor. (4.)  Furthermore,  it  should  very  much 

abate  the  force  of  the  objection  on  the  score  of  repetition  to  note 
that  these  visions  were  not  originally  given  all  in  one  night,  nor 
all  written  at  one  sitting,  and  published  to  the  world  at  one  and 
the  same  time.  The  reader  may  perhaps  unconsciously  assume 
this.  He  can  now  read  them  all  at  once,  and  grasp  them  all  as 
if  they  were  all  shown  the  prophet  and  his  people  at  once.  But 
this  is  a  simple  mistake  of  ignorance,  or,  more  mildly,  inadvertence. 
It  comes  of  not  observing  the  dates.  These  will  show  that  full 
seventy  years  lay  between  the  first  and  the  last — the  first  being  in 
the  second  year  of  Nebuchadnezzar ;  and  the  last  in  the  third  year 
of  Cyrus.  Here  was  ample  time  to  note  whether  the  great  points 
were  adequately  understood.  The  successive  visions,  involving  a 
great  amount  of  repetition,  coupled  with  more  and  more  detail  and 
the  addition  each  time  of  some  new  matter,  show  that  the  Lord 

wished  to  have  the  whole  subject  understood  more  perfectly. 

(5.)  The  reason  which  the  Lord  usually  assigns  for  giving  line  upon 
line  is  the  dullness  of  men's  hearts  to  apprehend  the  things  taught 
them.  See  Isa.  28.  This  may  be  in  part  his  reason  for  repeating 
the  main  points  in  those  parallel  visions.  This  supposition  becomes 
the  more  probable  from  the  fact  that  as  we  advance  in  their  order 
they  become  more  minute  and  definite  on  the  great  points  that 
would  have  most  interest  to  Daniel  and  his  people,  viz. :  the  terrible 
conflict  which  the  Jewish  faith  and  worship  are  to  have  with  their 
great  assailant,  Antiochus  Epiphanes.  In  fact  this  law  of  progres- 
sive clearness  and  definiteness  is  carried  so  far  that  in  the  last  of 
these  visions,  all  symbol  is  dropped ;  the  whole  vision  becomes  vir- 
tually an  explanation ;  the  usual  forms  of  prophecy  give  way  to  the 
literal  statements  of  history,  and  we  have  a  plain  narrative  (though 
prophetic)  of  what  the  vile  Idng  would  do,  of  his  character  and  his 
doom.  We  must  conclude  that  the  Lord  meant  to  make  these 
points  entirely  plain  to  all  that  ancient  Jewish  people. 

II.  The  second  objection  which  I  note  lies  really  in  the  feelings 
of  the  reader,  rather  than  in  his  convictions.  He  says,  "How  can 
I  afibrd  to  give  up  my  long-cherished  views  of  these  prophecies  ? 
How  can  I  lose  all  I  have  been  wont  to  find  here  in  respect  to  the 
doom  of  the  Pope  and  indeed  of  all  the  great  Antichrists  of  our 


456  DANIEL.— CHAP.  XII. 

world,  and  in  respect  to  the  time  of  Christ's  final  triumph  in  the 

great  millennium?" 1  am  quite  well  aware  that  some  will  feel 

as  men  do  when  robbed  of  a  cherished  treasure,  or  outraged  by 
some  theft  which  knows  no  rights  of  property.  They  can  not  feel 
very  kindly  disposed  toward  tlie  rough  hand  that  would  tear  away 
a  cherished  good.  Those  who  have  found  here  an  epitome  of  the 
conflicts  of  the  church  down  to  the  millennium,  and  who  have  been 
able  (as  tliey  suppose)  by  some  ingenuity  to  decipher  the  enigmas 
of  this  book  and  bring  out  dates  that  locate  the  millennium  and 
almost  or  quite  determine  in  what  year  or  even  day  the  Lord  will 
come,  will  find  it  hard  to  reconcile  themselves  to  the  idea  that 

those  things  are  not  here — not  the  first  one  of  them! What  can 

I  say  to  help  this  class  of  readers  ? 

1.  Let  the  truth  stand  before  all  things  else.  Let  us  go  where 
legitimate  evidence  bears  us,  and  leave  the  issues  with  God.  It 
can  not  be  too  deeply  realized'  that  it  does  not  devolve  on  us  to 
viahe  prophecy  for  Daniel  to  say,  but  only  to  hiterjjret  properly  and 
truly  what  he  has  said.  What  he  never  meant  is  no  prophecy  at 
all.  Nothing  beyond  the  true  meaning  of  his  words — nothing 
other  than  that — has  a  particle  of  additional  value  because  it  is 
supposed  or  assumed  to  be  in  this  book.  The  pages  of  Daniel  are 
not  white  paper,  put  before  the  speculating  interpreter  for  him  to 
write  therein  what  he  will  and  call  it  the  prophecy  of  Daniel.  Nor 
are  these  pages  obscure  dark  words,  upon  which  ingenious  men  can 
put  any  foregone  construction  they  will  and  call  it  Daniel's  mean- 
ing. In  short,  nothing  but  the  very  sense  of  his  words  which  he 
himself  intended  is  his  prophecy;  and  this  must  be  ascertained 
according  to  the  usual  laws  by  which  all  language  is  to  be  inter- 
preted.  2.  False  theories  of  Daniel's  prophecies  are  liable  to  do 

indefinite  mischief — of  which  the  Millerism  of  our  own  age  is  both 
an  instance  and  an  illustration.  Such  facts  as  lie  in  the  history  of 
this  sad  delusion  should  be  a  caution  to  all  interpreters  of  prophecy 
to  beware  lest  they  unwittingly  become  the  occasion  of  like  evils 
in  future  times.  The  genius  of  this  system  of  Mr.  IMiller  and  its 
main  points  of  argument,  so  far  as  they  rest  on  Daniel,  will  be  the 

subject  of  a  special  dissertation  found  in  the  Appendix  [^B.'] 3. 

To  those  who  cling  to  that  interpretation  of  Daniel  which  fiuds  pre- 
cise dates  for^great  events  supposed  to  be  now  near  at  hand,  I  have  to 
say,  It  may  be  that  God  saw  fit  not  to  give  the  church  such  definite 
dates  of  the  fall  of  Antichristian  powers,  of  the  millennium,  and 
of  the  second  coming  of  Christ,  as  modern  prophetic  theories  have 
assumed.  He  may  have  seen  that  to  reveal  these  groat  facts  with- 
out revealing  their  dates  would  insure  the  best  pressure  of  motive 
for  zeal  and  for  faith,  and  would  harmonize  most  kindly  and  effi- 
ciently with  human  free  agency. 1  state  this  here  in  a  hypo- 
thetical way ;  He  7na)/  have  seen  that  this  course  would  be  wisest 
and  best.  A  stronger  form  of  statement  might  be  safely  made ;  but 
this  will  suffice  for  my  present  purpose.  It  is  not  well  for  men  to 
assume  that  God  must  have  foretold  the  year  of  those  great  events 
of  our  world;  tlie  fall  of  the  last  Antichrist;   the  ushering  in  of 


DANIEL.— CHAP.  XII.  457 

millennial  peace ;  and  the  last  coming  of  the  Son  of  God. 1  do 

not  assume  that  God  nevei'  gives  precise  prophetic  dates  of  any 
future  events,  for  here  are  such  in  Daniel,  much  more  close  and 
near,  when  taken,  as  they  say,  "  days,"  than  when  taken,  as  many 
do,  for  years.  But  contemplating  the  entire  field  of  Scripture 
prophecy,  precise  dates  are  the  exception  and  not  the  rule.  Out  of 
scores  of  prophecies  respecting  the  Messiah's  first  advent  and  his 
earthly  kingdom,  it  would  be  hard  to  find  any  single  one  that  gives 

us  definite  dates  except  that  at  the  close  of  Dan.  9. 4.  The  four 

great  parallel  visions  of  Daniel  (as  I  understand  and  explain  them) 
show  how  God  in  ancient  times  made  use  of  prophecy  to  sustain 
and  encourage  snch  servants  of  his  as  Daniel  and  such  a  people  as 
the  Maccabean  heroes.  No  doubt  Daniel  himself  needed  and  felt 
such  cjuickening  as  these  visions  were  adapted  to  impart.  The 
same  was  true  of  his  people,  especiall}'-  in  those  times  of  fearful 
trial.  In  this  view  they  testify  to  the  unceasing  care  of  Jehovah 
for  his  cause  and  people. 5.  While  this  view  of  Daniel's  prophe- 
cies fails  to  gratify  the  curiosity  of  those  who  would  pry  into  the 
unrevealed  times  of  God's  purposed  blessings,  it  does  show  us  how 
all  human  forces  hostile  to  the  church  fall  before  his  providential 
judgments.  These  visions  show  how,  from  the  fiery  flame  of  the  An- 
cient of  Days,  these  judgments  came  down  on  the  fourth  beast  and 
his  little  horn,  before  the  first  coming  of  the  Messiah; — then  how 
this  same  glorious  power  was  solemnly  invested  in  the  new  King 
Messiah,  and  he  was  inaugurated  to  do  essentially  what  the  Ancient 
of  Days  had  done  before  him  to  the  great  Grecian  kingdom  and  its 
blasphemous  persecuting  king ;  aye,  and  to  do  also  a  spiritual  work 

on  the  hearts  of  men  far  greater  and  more  glorious ! It  also 

assures  us  that  in  this  new  form  the  Messiah's  kingdom  will  stand 
forever ;  will  not  be  transferred  to  other  hands ;  that  under  it  the 
influence  of  Christianity  will  be  unbounded  over  the  vast  popula- 
tions of  the  earth,  and  God  and  his  truth  will  triumph  long  and 
gloriously.  And  here,  amid  the  blaze  of  glory  which  invests  this 
final  consummation,  the  vision  resteth ! 

Yet  ere  we  close,  let  us  again  revert  to  Daniel,  at  once  the  great 
historian  and  the  great  prophet  of  his  time ;  who  more  than  any 
other  man  wrote  contemporary  history  along  with  his  prophecies 
and  future  history  m  his  prophecies;  who  wonderfully  blended 
his  own  present  life  with  that  future  in  which  the  Lord  suffered  him 
to  live  so  intensely ;  who  did  so  much  for  his  people  while  he  lived, 
so  much  for  the  age  in  which  he  lived,  and  who  yet,  through  his 
wonderful  prophecies,  projected  himself  down  into  that  most  ter- 
rible age  of  Jewish  persecution,  more  terrible  by  far  than  any 
other  through  which  the  Jewish  church  as  such  was  ever  called  to 
pass; — raised  up  of  God  for  these  special  ends — to  help  the  nation 
first  through  the  Babylonish  captivity,  and  next,  through  the  yet 
more  fierce  and  fiery  ordeal  of  torture  and  blood  to  which  they 
were  subjected  in  the  age  of  the  Maccabees; — a  wonderful  man! 
endowed  with  wisdom  almost  superhuman,  of  marvelous  capacities 
for  public  business,  for  bearing  great  responsibilities,  and  for  win- 

20 


458  DANIEL.— CHAP.  XII. 

ning  the  confidence  of  men  who  never  loved  his  religion  and  never 
worshiped  his  God,  but  who  yet  felt  the  presence  of  his  piety  and 
the  power  of  his  intrinsic  greatness  and  worth ; — such  a  man  was 
justly  held  in  the  highest  esteem  by  his  countrymen;  nay,  more; 
such  a  man  impresses  us  with  a  new  sense  of  the  wealth  of  resour- 
ces at  God's  command  for  making  great  men  for  his  own  use  on 
great  occasions.  The  beauty  of  his  character  shines  in  his  pure 
simplicity ;  in  his  modesty  and  humility ;  in  the  fact  that  he  filled 
a  sphere  of  thought  and  purpose  high  above  the  seductions  of  hu- 
man ambition;  that  he  dwelt  in  communion  Avith  God  and  drew 
his  mighty  impulses  to  goodness  and  even  to  greatness  from  the 
very  sanctuary  of  Jehovah's  presence; — that  hence  his  heart  was 
full  to  overflowing  with  the  tenderest  sympathies  for  his  people,  so 
that  he  truly  lived  in  their  life,  and  felt  borne  down  and  crushed 
in  utter  prostration  by  the  views  God  gave  him  prophetically  of 
their  future  afflictions  and  perils.  What  did  not  the  grace  of  God 
do  for  this  great  and  good  man!  Verily,  God  raised  him  up  and 
made  him  what  he  was  for  use  among  his  own  people !  This  same 
God  is  never  short  of  fit  instruments  for  great  emergencies.  Let 
him  be  joyfully  trusted  to  raise  up  other  men  no  less  great  and 
good,  what  time  new  and  great  emergencies  shall  occur  to  call 
them  forth ! 


DISSERTATION   I. 


ON  THE  THEORY  THAT  "  DAY,"  IN  PROPHECY,  MEAN'S  "  YEAR." 

Does  the  word  "day"  in  prophecy  mean  a  year? And  on  the 

same  principle,  must  other  periods  of  time,  e.  g.^  months  and  years, 
be  multiplied  by  three  hundred  and  sixty  to  get  the  real  time  in- 
tended ? This  is  our  question. Technically  and  in  short,  this 

is  often  called  the  "day-for-a-y ear-theory;"  but  it  is  supposed  to 
apply  not  only  to  the  usage  of  the  word  for  day,  but  equally  to  the 
'word  for  month  and  at  least  to  the  word  "time,"  which  Daniel 
uses  for  a  year.  So  that  the  broad  principle  is  that  prophetic  no- 
tations of  time  must  be  multiplied  by  three  hundred  and  sixty  to 

get  the  real  historic  duration. 1  am  compelled  to  discard  this 

theory  as  utterly  baseless,  false,  and  of  course  miscMevous  and  de- 
lusive; for  the  following  reasons: 1.  All  reasonable  presump- 
tion is  utterly  against  it.  For  prophecy  comes  from  God  to  men  in 
the  common  language  of  men.  If  it  did  not,  it  would  reveal  noth- 
ing, without  a  special  revelation  to  explain  it — a  new  revelation  to 
teach  the  meaning  of  the  new  prophetic  language.  Symbols  in 
prophecy  are  no  exception.  For  in  the  statements  made  respecting 
these  symbols,  words  are  used  in  their  well-known  sense.  The 
word  "lion"  means  a  lion,  and  the  word  "bear"  means  a  bear. 
When  a  lion  is  seen  in  vision  as  a  symbol,  we  fall  back  upon  the 
knoAvn  qualities  of  the  lion  and  his  known  relations  to  other  ani- 
mals to  find  the  significance  of  the  symbol.  But  this  is  in  no  way 
peculiar  to  prophecy.  We  should  do  just  the  same  in  poetry,  or  in 
common  conversation.  So  that  symbols  in  prophecy  are  no  excep- 
tion to  the  common  law  that  prophecy  comes  to  us  in  merely  hu- 
man language,  using  its  words  in  their  established  and  well-known 
sense.  Hence  the  presumption  is  entirely  against  this  theory  of 
day  for  year.  If  God  speaks  to  men,  the  presumption  is  wholly  in 
favor  of  his  using  the  common  language  of  men  in  its  usual  sense. 
The  Hebrews  had  suitable  words  for  both  day  and  year,  and  tliey 
used  them  as  correctly  as  we  do  ours.  If  God  had  occasion  to 
speak  to  them  of  time  in  the  future,  why  should  he  not  use  their 
language  as  they  did? 2.  No  reason  lying  in  the  nature  or  ob- 
jects of  prophecy  aflPords  the  least  presumption  in   favor  of  this 

theory. The  only  reason  which  I  have  ever  heard  of,  or  seen, 

assigned  for  this  usage  of  day  fur  year,  is  that  God  meant  to  make 

(459) 


4G0  DISSERTATION  I. 

his  statements  as  to  time  unintcllipble  until  their  fulfillment.     That 

is,  he  meant  to  lock  up  this  part  of  the  truth  and  hide  the  key. 

I  reply,  1.  There  is  no  evidence  that  God  has  intended  or  tried 
to  hide  Avhat  he  seemed  to  reveal.  There  is  no  evidence  of  his  re- 
sorting to  enigma  lest  prophecy  should  be  understood  too  soon.  It 
docs  not  appear  that  he  has  been  specially  careful  to  hide  the  point 
of  duration  loliilc  professing  to  reveal  it.  When  he  chooses  not  to 
reveal  the  time  of  events,  he  manifestly  forbears  to  give  it;  this  is 
all-sufficient  for  that  purpose.  What  would  be  gained  by  putting 
his  revelations  in  the  form  of  a  puzzle  or  riddle  ?  Kot  to  say  here 
that  this  would  seem  to  be  beneath  the  dignity  of  the  great  uod,  I 
still  press  this  question ;  Why  should  the  Lord  thus  tantalize  his 
people  and  mock  their  desire  to  understand  what  he  has  said  in 
prophecy  as  to  the  time  of  predicted  events?  Where  the  Lord 
sees  fit  to  say  nothing  about  the  time,*  we  bow  to  his  wisdom. 
Where  he  has  spoken  of  the  time,  why  may  we  not  try  to  under- 
stand what  he  says ;  and  further,  why  should  we  not  assume  that 
he  has  revealed  these  notations  of  time  to  he  studied  and  understood 
and  not  to  puzzle  and  confound  the  honest  inquirer  ?  Yet  further : 
the  notion  that  God  meant  to  put  things  in  such  a  shape  that  the 
real  time  should  come  to  light  only  after  the  event,  and  only  by 
means  of  the  event,  is  utterly  without  support;  for  there  is  no 
prophecy  in  that ;  it  foretells  nothing  about  the  time ;  of  itself  it 
means  nothing;  and  no  good  reason  can  be  given  why  God  should 
in  this  way  profess  to  communicate  prophecy  and  yet  communi- 
cate nothing ! 

2.  If  this  precise  plan  of  day  for  year  had  been  adopted,  a 
few  well-authenticated  facts  would  have  brougltt  the  key  to  light, 
and  would  have  effectually  frustrated  the  object  of  concealment. 
For,  after  the  key  is  found,  it  is  a  very  simple  matter  to  use 
it.  Nothing  can  be  more  simple  or  more  certain  in  its  results  than 
a  process  of  multiplication  in  pure  mathematics.  Multiplying  a 
given  period  of  time  by  three  hundred  and  sixty  is  soon  done  and 

done  surely. The  appearance  of  artifice  in  this  scheme  seems 

to  me  beneath  the  dignity  of  the  great  and  holy  God.  It  is  alto- 
gether out  of  harmony  with  the  rest  of  the  Bible.  All  else  is  lucid, 
honest,  and  manifestly  said  in  order  to  be  understood  by  the  docile, 

humble,  diligent  reader. Nor  let  it  be  thought  that  the  case  of 

our  Lord's  speaking  to  the  Jews  in  parables,  and  explaining  them 
only  to  his  disciples,  refutes  my  position.  For  that  was  judicial — 
a  judgment  sent  on  self-hardened  and  self-blinded  sinners  because 
of  their  chosen  blindness.  But  this  prophetic  theory,  if  true,  would 
be  a  judgment  on  good  men  who  love  the  truth,  and  vdi(T  honestly 
wish  to  learn  all  that  God  has  been  pleased  to  iM3veal. 

3.  This  tlieory  is  entirely  without  foundation.  It  has  no  legiti- 
mate evidence  for  its  support.     It  is  a  castle  built  in  the  air. 

There  is  not  a  single  case  of  prophetic  time,  in  which  the  fulfill- 
ment has  verified  this  principle  of  multiplying  the  prophetic  time 
by  three  hundred  and  sixty  to  get  the  actual  time.  It  is  thought 
there  arc  some   events   yet   future — almost  ready  to   come — which 


DISSERTATION  I.  461 

will  be  in  point  and  will  prove  it  to  every  body's  satisfaction;  but 

they  have  not  come  yet ! On  the  contrary  there  are  numerous 

cases  of  prophetic  time  already  fulfilled  which  prove  that  designa- 
tions of  time  in  prophecy  mean  what  they  say,  and  arc  to  be  taken 
in  their  usual  sense. These  statements  should  be  carefully  con- 
sidered and  well  supported.  Let  us  have  patience  to  examine  in  suf- 
ficient detail  the  alleged  evidence  that  a  prophetic  day  means  year. 

(1.)  Appeal  is  made  to  Num.  14:  33,  34;  "Your  children  shall 
wander  in  the  wilderness  forty  years.  After  the  number  of  the 
days  in  which  ye  searched  the  land,  even  forty  days,  each  day  for 

a  year,  shall  ye  bear  your  iniquities,  even  forty  years." Is  this  a 

case  of  the  word  day  used  for  year  ?  or  of  the  word  day  used  for 
only  one  three  hundred  and  sixtieth  part  of  the  time  really  meant  ? 
By  no  means.  Nothing  of  the  sort.  Throughout  this  passage,  the 
word  day  means  a  common  day, — nothing  more.  The  word  year 
needs  no  multiplying  by  three  hundred  and  sixty  to  find  the  time 

intended. The  only  prophecy  in  this  passage — here  in  the  form 

of  a  denunciation,  or  threatened  punishment — is,  "Ye  shall  wander 
forty  years."  But  does  this  mean,  Ye  shall  wander  in  the  wilder- 
ness three  hundred  and  sixty  times  forty  years;  i.  e.,  fourteen 
thousand  and  four  hundred  years?  Who  can  believe  that?  If 
God  had  said,  "  Ye  shall  wander  forty  days,''  and  the  event  had 
proved  that  he  truly  meant  forty  years,  using  the  word  day  to  mean 
year,  the  case  would  have  been  in  point.     But  he  did  not  say  that, 

and  no  good  reason  can  be  assigned  why  he  should  have  said  it. 

Will  the  reader  still  ask.  Does  not  the  Lord  say,  "Each  day  for  a 

year  ?  "  and  is  not  that  precisely  what  we  claim  ? 1  answer ;  Those 

are  the  words  he  uses ,  but  their  meaning  is  nothing  like  what  you 
claim.  He  means  only  that  the  years  of  their  wandering  shall 
correspond  to  the  days  of  their  searching  the  land  through  their 
committee,  the  twelve  spies.  The  one  purpose  of  the  Lord  in  this 
form  of  threatening  was  to  make  their  punishment  a  perpetual  re- 
minder of  their  sin — a  thing  which  he  often  does  for  the  best  of 
moral  reasons.  All  through  their  weary  wanderings,  they  could 
say;  "Forty  days  our  brethren  searched  out  the  land,  and  brought 
back  that  unbelieving  report;  we  heard  it,  and,  indorsing  all  its 
unbelief,  we  practically  said,  Save  us  from  going  there !  The  Lord 
gave  us  our  prayer  in  judgment,  and  we  have  forty  years  before  us 
in  this  dreary  wilderness !"     This  is  all. 

(2.)  Another  proof  text  very  analagoug  to  the  preceding  is  Ezek. 
4 :  4-6.  Ezekiel  is  commanded  to  lie  on  his  right  side  forty  days 
and  on  his  left  three  hundred  and  ninety  days,  before  all  Israel,  to 
indicate  that  he  bears  (in  symbol)  the  iniquity  of  Judah  forty 
years,  and  of  Israel  three  hundred  and  ninety.  The  language  is ; 
"  For  1  have  laid  upon  thee  the  years  of  their  iniquity  according  to 
the  number  of  the  days,  three  hundred  and  ninety  days : — So  shalt 
thou  bear  the' iniquity  of  the  house  of  Israel.  Then  lie  again  on 
thy  right  side,  and  thou  shalt  bear  the  iniquity  of  Judah  forty 

days : — 1  have  appointed  thee  each  day  for  a  year." But  observe 

throughout  this  passage  that  in  every  instance  the  word  day  is  used 


462  DISSERTATION  I. 

for  a  common  day — never  in  the  sense  of  year ;  and  the  word  year 
means  only  one  year;  never  three  hundred  and  sixty  years.  True, 
the  symholic  act  of  lying  on  one  side  forty  days  denoted  that  in  this 
symbolic,  representative  manner  he  bears  their  forty  years  of  sin- 
ning; but  this  extension  of  time  from  one  day  of  symbol  to  one 
year  of  sin  lies  not  in  any  peculiar  use  of  the  word  "day,"  for  there 
is  no  peculiar  use  of  it  here ;  but  it  is  in  the  symbol,  and  is  there 

only  by  special  divine  arrangement  and  statement. If  the  Lord 

had  said  ''forty  days^^  when  he  meant  forty  ycars^  it  would  be 
somewhat  to  the  point.  But  he  did  not  use  his  words  so.  There 
is  no  proof  that  he  ever  did.  Certainly  this  case  does  not  afford 
the  least  particle  of  such  proof. 

(3.)  Another  somewhat  analagous  passage  is  2  Pet.  3:8:  "One 
day  is  with  the  Lord  as  a  thousand  years  and  a  thousand  years  as 
one  day."  Unfortunately  if  this  means  any  thing  to  the  purpose,  it 
means  far  too  much.  For  if  it  applies  to  the  case  in  hand,  the 
word  day  means,  not  one  year  only,  but  one  thousand  years  !  And 
then,  further,  one  thousand  years  mean  one  day,  and  our  long  mil- 
lennium is  cut  down  wofully !  And  then  it  would  be  impossible  to 
tell  which  way  to  work  out  this  problem — whether  we  must  multiply 
by  one  thousand  or  divide  by  it!  AYlio  could  tell  us  whether  in 
any  given  prophecy  a  day  means  one  thousand  years,  or  a  thousand 

years  means  one  day? Happily  that  little  word  "a^^"  relieves 

us  of  all  our  perplexities,  showing  that  the  passage  has  nothing  to 
do  with  this  theory  that  God  says  day  when  he  means  year. 

(4.)  jNIucli  the  most  important  passage  ever  thought  of  as  proof 
of  the  theory  in  question  is  Dan.  9 :  24-27 — the  celebrated  prophecy 
of  the  "seventy  weeks."  But  this  has  been  already  examined  in 
my  commentary  on  the  passage  in  its  place,  to  which  the  reader 
can  refer.  He  will  there  find  these  main  points  made,  viz. :  that 
the  original  word  means  in  its  singular  number,  a  seven — a  heptad ; 
and  this  may  be  a  seven  of  days  or  a  seven  of  years :  that  the  fem- 
inine plural  is  currently  used  for  heptads  of  days ;  the  masculine 
plural  (which  we  have  here)  never  by  itself  for  the  common  week 
of  days,  but  when  a  week  of  days  is  meant,  the  word  days  is  ap- 
pended, as  in  Dan.  10 :  2,  3 ;  and  finally  that  after  a  word  and  a 
special  form  of  a  word  which  simply  suggests  the  idea  of  a  seven — 
a  seven  of  something,  we  must  ask — a  seven  of  what?  and  must 
look  for  our  answer  in  the  context — in  the  thought  already  before 
the  mind.  In  the  present  case,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  this 
thought  is,  the  seventy  years  of  captivity.  Then  seventy  sevens  of 
years  must  be  the  sense  of  this  phrase,  and  it  involves  no  usage 
of  the  word  day  to  mean  year — no  usage  of  any  current  notations 
of  time  in  a  way  to  need  multiplying  by  three  hundred  and  sixty 
to  get  the  actual  time. 

(5.)  All  individual  proof  texts  failing,  some  will  still  fall  back 
upon  the  general  idea  that  prophecy  has  a  special  fondness  for 
highly  figurative  language; — so  that  they  seem  to  themselves  to 
make  a  pretty  strong  argument  for  tlieir  theory  when  they  call  it 
an   instance  of  strong  Jigurative  lartgnage  —  such   as  abounds  in 


DISSERTATION  I.  463 

prophecy. But  this  is  a  simple  fiillacj.     Those  who  say  this 

fail  altogether  to  notice  what  figures  in  rhetoric  are.  Perhaps  they 
confound  figures  in  rhetoric  with  figures  in  mathematics — two 
things  most  unlike  in  sense,  however  like  in  the  word.  If  men 
would  only  notice  that  there  is  no  rhetoric  and  no  scope  for  the  im- 
agination in  a  mathematical  process;  e.  g.^  in  multiplying  by  three 
hundred  and  sixty,  they  might  be  disabused  of  this  fallacy.  Fig- 
ures in  language  turn  on  some  resemblances  which  only  the  im- 
agination can  recognize  and  appreciate.  But  figures  in  mathematics 
raake  no  appeal  to  the  imagination.  This  " day-for-a-year  theory" 
needs  no  function  of  the  imagination  to  solve  and  apply  it.  It  re- 
quires only  a  short  process  in  multiplication — in  simple  mathemat- 
ics. Has  this  the  least  analogy  with  the  use  of  the  word  "light" 
for  what  is  joyous  and  "darkness"  for  what  is  sad?  Not  the  least 
imaginable.  The  failure  to  note  such  distinctions  may  serve  to 
mislead  and  delude;  it  can  sen-e  no  other  purpose. 

(6.)  Of  the  proofs  from  usage  for  the  theory  in  question,  all  the 
rest,  known  to  me,  are  in  the  class  yet  to  be  fulfilled  and  verified; 
or  rather,  like  Mr.  Miller's  Second  Advent  in  1843 — yet  to  be  ex- 
ploded. Those  which  assign  the  final  fall  of  Romanism  to  A.  D. 
1SG6  are  soon  to  follow  Mr.  Miller's.  It  will  be  soon  enough  to 
believe  this  theory  on  the  strength  of  fulfilled  jwophccy  when  the 
cases  of  suitable  sort  and  in  sufficient  number  do  actually  occur. 

It  is  simply  amazing  that  this  theory  has  obtained  so  much 

credence  on  absolutely  not  the  least  foundation.  Against  all  rea- 
sonable presumption — in  the  face  of  the  strongest  prima  fiicie  evi- 
dence against  it,  there  should  be  a  very  imposing  array  of  substan- 
tial argument  for  it  before  it  gains  any  credence.  How  strange, 
then,  that  it  has  gained  so  much  without  the  first  particle  of  reli- 
able proof? 

4.  It  still  remains  to  assume  the  offensive  against  this  theory 
and  show  that  fulfilled  prophecy  is  all  against  it.  So  far  as  Bible 
history  gives  us  the  fulfillment  of  Bible  prophecy  in  which  notations 
of  time  are  involved,  the  "usus  loquendi"  proves  that  words  in 
prophecy  denoting  time  are  used  in  their  common,  normal  sense, 
and  never  in  the  enigmatical,  peculiar  way  affirmed  by  this  theory. 
Thus  the  Lord  through  Noah  predicted  the  flood  after  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  years  (Gen.  6 :  3),     Did  it  turn  out  to  be  43,200 

years,  or  only  120? Again  in  reference  to  this  flood,  the  Lord 

said  to  Noah  (Gen,  7:  4),  "Yet  seven  days  and  I  will  cause  it  to 
rain  forty  days  and  forty  nights."  That  would  have  been  awful  at 
forty  years,  and  Noah  and  his  company  all  that  time  shut  up  in  the 

ark! To  Abraham  (Gen.  15  :  13)  the  Lord  said,  "Thy  seed  shall 

be  a  stranger  in  a  land  not  theirs  "  (Egypt),  "  and  they  shall  afilict 
them  four  hundred  years."  Does  this  need  to  be  multiplied  by 
three  hundred   and   sixty  ?     Was  the  actual  time  four  hundred 

years,  or  one  hundred  and  forty-four  thousand? In  Num.  14: 

34,  the  prophecy  stands,  "Your  children  shall  wander  in  the  wil- 
derness forty  years."  Did  it  prove  to  be  forty,  or  three  hundred 
and  sixty  times  forty — i.  e.,  fourteen  thousand  and  four  hundred? 


464  DISSERTATION  I. 

In  Isa.  7 :  8  is  this  prophecy :  "  Within  sixty-five  years  shall 

Ephraim  be  broken  that  it  be  not  a  people."  Was  this  really  sixty- 
live,  or  was  it  prophetic  time"  (so  called);  i.  e.,  twenty-three  thou- 
sand and  four  hundred  years?  Even  sixty-five  carries  the  end 
several  years  beyond  the  end  of  the  kingdom  as  destroyed  by  Shal- 
manezer,  B.  C.  722,  for  the  rci.irn  of  Aliaz,  son  of  llemaliah,  lay 
y>.  0.  759-740.  The  prophet  included  a  final  crowning  act  by  Esar- 
haddon,  filling  the  country  with  colonists  from  other  countries,  and 
embraced  this  within  the  sixty-five  years. Isaiah  (16:  14)  pre- 
dicted of  Moab,  "  Within  three  years  as  the  years  of  a  hireling, 
shall  the  glory  of  Moab  be  contemned."  Should  this  be  accounted 
as  really  three  years,  or  as  one  thousand  and  eighty  years  ?  I>ut 
if  this  is  three,  why  is  not  three  and  a  half  in  Dan.  7:  25,  and  12 : 

7,  just  three  and  a  half? In  Jer.  25:  4  it  is  predicted,  "These 

nations  (Judah  included)  shall  serve  the  king  of  Babylon  seventy 
years."  And  Jer.  29:  10  reads,  "After  seventy  years  be  accom- 
plished at  Babylon,  I  will  visit  you,  and  perform  my  good  words 
toward  you,  in  causing  you  to  return  to  this  place."  Now  it  was 
because  these  time-designations  meant  just  what  they  said  that 
Daniel  could  "understand  by  books  the  number  of  the  years"  of 
this  captivity  and  adjust  himself  to  it.  It  is  plain  that  he  had  not 
a  particle  of  confidence  in  this  theory  of  a  day  for  a  year,  and  of 
one  year  named  when  three  hundred  and  sixty  years  are  really 
meant.  If  he  had  believed  this  theory,  he  would  have  set  the  res- 
toration twenty-five  thousand  and  two  hundred  years  after  the  cap- 
tivity; i.  e.,  25,200— 60G=A.  D.  24,594— and  he  must  have  de- 
spaired of  living  in  this  world  to  see  it! And  now  shall  it  bo 

assumed  that  after  having  had  such  welcome  j)roof  that  God  means 
just  what  he  says  Avhen  he  gives  dates  and  numbers  in  prophecy, 
he  will  himself  darken  his  own  dates  by  enigmas  that  none  can 
understand  ?  Or  if  it  be  replied.  This  was  not  Daniel  but  the  re- 
vealing angel,  then  I  ask.  Would  not  Daniel  have  protested  against 
it,  saying,  I  have  myself  been  exceedingly  comforted,  aided,  and 
blessed  by  being  able  to  understand  by  books  when  the  divine 
numbers  in  prophecy  would  end ;  but  how  of  this  ?  Ko  mortal  can 
ever  understand  it !  0,  if  Daniel  might  only  speak  out  of  heaven 
to  those  who  so  darken  his  ])lain  words  and  so  magnify  his  simple 
numbers,  would  he  not  rebuke  them  ? It  can  scarcely  be  neces- 
sary to  refer  to  Ezek,  29:  11,  13,  which  predicts  a  temporary  cap- 
tivity of  Egypt;  forty  years;  not  fourteen  thousand  and  four  hun- 
dred years;  nor  to  Jonah's  prophecy  against  Nineveh;  "Yet 
forty  days  and  Nineveh  shall  be  overthrown."  It  would  have 
changed  the  case  very  essentially  if  he  had  meant  forty  years.  But 
why  in  such  a  case  should  not  the  Lord  say  what  he  means,  even  as 
he  expects  and  requires  men  to  do  ?  Is  there  any  conceivable  rea- 
son why  he  should  say  day  when  he  means  year  ?  Is  this  accord- 
ing to  t7-uth?     And  what  can  be  the  use  of  it? One  case  yet, 

more  important  than  any  other,  is  that  of  Daniel's  own  usage 
(Dan.  4:  IG,  23,  25,  32).  In  each  of  these  four  verses  it  is  pre- 
dicted that  king  Nebuchadnezzar's  insanity  would  continue  "until 


DISSERTATION  I.  4G5 

seven  times  should  have  passed  over  him."  So  long  he  would  be 
with  the  beasts  of  the  field,  would  eat  grass  as  oxen,  and  be  wet 
with  the  dew  of  heaven.  How  long  a  period  is  this? The  ad- 
vocates of  the  theory  in  question  maintain  strenuously  that 
Daniel's  "time,  times,  and  the  dividing  of  time,"  or  "an  half," 
(chap.  7:  25,  and  12:  7,)  equals  three  and  a  half  years,  and  that 
these  being  prophetic  years  are  really  twelve  hundred  and  sixty 
years.  On  no  one  point  are  they  more  united  and  strenuous  than 
on  this.  Now  the  same  writer,  in  the  same  book,  will  use  the  same 
word  in  the  same  sense.  Unless  there  be  some  very  great  differ- 
ence in  the  circumstances,  this  rule  must  hold  good.  No  rule  of 
interpretation  can  be  more  vital  or  more  reliable  than  this.  But  in 
the  present  case  no  difference  of  circumstance  can  be  shown.  Both 
are  prophecy.  Both  use  the  sameVord;  therefore  it  must  be  used 
in  both  cases  in  the  same  sense.  If  three  years  and  a  half  in 
prophecy  is  really  of  actual  time  t^^^elve  hundred  and  sixty  years, 
then  "  seven  times,"  equal  to  seven  years  of  prophetic  time,  becomes, 
when  converted  into  actual  time,  twenty-five  hundred  and  twenty 

years ! — a  long  time,  truly,  for  one  man  to  eat  grass ! Some  people 

will  think  there  must  be  something  very  special  and  even  mysterious 
in  this  word,  "  a  time,"  when  used  for  a  year,  and  hence  they  read- 
ily admit  this  theory  of  (so  called)  "prophetic  time,"  when  applied  to 
Daniel's  word,  a  "  thne."  But  the  seven  "times  "  [years]  of  the  king's 
insanity  is  just  as  truly  prophetic  time  as  the  three  and  a  half  "  times  " 
[years]  of  ascendency  of  Antiochus  over  the  Mosaic  institutions  and 

sacrifices — "times  and  laws." The  cases  above  adduced  are  not 

culled  out — a  few  of  this  sort  from  amid  many  of  the  opposite. 
There  are  none  of  the  opposite  sort.  There  is  not  one  case  in  all 
the  Bible  in  which  fulfilled  prophecy  shows  that  prophetic  time  is 
estimated  on  the  rule  of  a  day  for  a  year.  The  usage  of  the  Bible 
goes  solid  against  this  theory.  When,  from  its  nature,  this  theory 
ought  to  have  the  very  strongest  support  from  Bible  usage  before  it 
can  be  reasonably  accepted,  it  has  not  the  first  particle  of  proof  in 

its  behalf,  either  from  Bible  usage  or  from  any  other  source. As 

we  might  rationally  expect,  all  scriptural  usage  shows  that  when 
God  has  given  prophetic  time,  he  meant  to  have  it  understood^  and 
therefore  used  the  language  of  men  as  men  use  it.  One  of  his 
special  objects  in  giving  prophetic  time  has  been  to  afford  to  his 
people  the  benefit  of  knowing  the  duration,  or  the  era,  as  the  case 
may  be,  beforehand.  Therefore,  he  could  no  more  employ  a  myth 
or  a  riddle  to  puzzle  his  people  over  his  dates,  than  he  could  give 
precepts  and  inculcate  duty  in  so  blind  a  way  that  none  could  un- 
derstand him  without  a  new  revelation  to  reveal  his  meaning.  Is 
it  not  a  marvel  that  interpreters  of  prophecy  could  so  far  ignore 
the  veracity  and  the  sober  honesty  of  the  Holy  One  as  to  impute  to 
him  such  a  use  of  language  as  this  theory  involves  ? 

5.  There  is  yet  one  more  objection  to  this  theory,  lying  in  the 
fact  that  its  advocates  apply  it  only  to  the  periods  of  Zion's  calam- 
ity and  persecution:  never,  or  almost  never,  to  the  period  of  her 
prosperity.     They  apply  it  to  the  prophecies  of  the  sway  of  Anti- 
30 


466  DISSERTATION  I. 

christ;  never  to  the  prophecies  of  the  true  Messiah's  reign. 
Scarcely  a  man  within  iny  knowledge  has  applied  this  enormous 

multiplier  to  the  thousand  years  of  Messiah's  promised  reign ! 

Now,  it  is  bad  enough  to  attemj^t  to  make  capricious  discriminations 
at  all  as  to  the  usage  of  words,  and  say  in  one  set  of  prophecies  day 
means  only  day  and  year  only  year ;  while  in  another  set,  day  means 
year,  and  one  year  means  three  hundred  and  sixty.  This,  1  say, 
is  bad  enough  at  the  best.  But  it  is  ineffably  bad  to  apply  this 
awful  multiplier  to  the  eras  of  antichristian  rule  and  not  to  the  dura- 
tion of  the  Messiah's  reign  !  Look  at  the  reason  why  this  discrim- 
ination is  so  revolting.- (1.)  It  assumes  that  God  ai»is  and  plans 

to  hide  from  his  people  the  actual  duration  of  their  calamities  until 
the  time  arrives ;  or,  rather — worse  yet — he  purports  to  reveal  it ; 
gives  us  the  usual  words  for  well-known  periods  of  time ;  but  uses 
them  so  that  his  people  will  see  only  one  three  hundred  and  six- 
tieth part  of  the  truth!  He  caHs  the  time  a  day  when  really  it  is 
a  year ;  he  calls  it  three  years  and  a  half  when  really  it  is  twelve 

hundred  and  sixty  years ! Believe  this  of  our  God — who  can  ? 

If  he  had  seen  fit  not  to  disclose  the  duration  of  the  church's 

great  calamit}^,  very  well.  All  his  trustful  children  would  bow 
submissively  to  his  wisdom,  and  would  still  trust  his  love.  But 
that  he  sliould  profess  to  reveal  it,  and  then  state  it  at  only  one 
three  hundred  and  sixtieth  part  of  the  actual  time — that  is  simply 
horrible !  And  then  to  cap  the  climax,  that  he  should  state  the 
duration  of  her  prosperity  in  a  way  to  make  it  seem  all  that  it  is, — 
this  sets  off  the  other  usage  in  a  still  more  strange  and  revolting 
light. (2.)  A  second  reason  why  this  discrimination  is  so  ob- 
jectionable is,  that  it  makes  the  reign  of  Antichrist  relatively  long 
and  the  reign  of  the  real  Christ  relatively  short.  Antichrist  tri- 
umphs twelve  hundred  and  sixty  years ;  Jesus  Christ  only  one 
thousand !  The  eras  of  persecution,  straitness  and  calamity,  sur- 
pass the  era  of  peace,  truth,  righteousness  and  salvation !  I  take 
it  this  is  incredible.  I  have  a  full  conviction  that  the  greatness  of 
God's  mercy  toward  our  world  forbids  it.  The  sure  word  of  proph- 
ecy is  absolutely  and  mightily  against  it — as  witness  what  the 
Jjord  said  by  Isaiah  (54:  7,  8);  "For  a  small  moment  have  1  for- 
saken thee  "  (Zion)  "  but  with  great  mercies  will  1  gather  thee.  In 
a  little  wrath  1  hid  my  face  from  thee /or  a  moment;  but  loith  ever- 
lasting kindness  will  I  have  mercy  upon  thee,  saith  the  Lord  thy 
Kedeemer."     Does  a  moment  compare  with  everlasting  duration, 

as    twelve   hundred   and  sixty  years  to  one  thousand? These 

points  may,  I  trust,  suffice  to  show  why  this  theory  never  ought  to 
be  true  and  never  can  be. 


DISSEKTATION  II.  467 


DISSERTATION    II. 


ON    THE    DATA    WHICH    MR.    MILLER    CLAIMED    TO    FIND    IN    DANIEL    FOR 
THE    DESTRUCTION  OP    THIS    WORLD    IN    1843. 

About  the  year  1840,  Mr,  Win.  Miller  produced  considerable 
sensation  among  some  portions  of  the  American  churches  by  his 
views  of  the  second  advent  of  Christ.  He  taught  that  this  great 
event  would  occur  precisely  in  1843,  at  which  time  the  world 
would  be  burned  up  and  cleansed  by  fire  for  the  abode  of  the 
risen  righteous.  He  claimed,  with  the  utmost  assurance,  that  he 
had  found  these  dates  in  the  prophecies  of  Daniel,  viz.,  in  chaps. 
8  and  9.  He  professed,  and  indcisd  seemed,  to  hold  these  opinions 
with  most  entire  confidence,  virtually  declaring  that  if  any  reliance 
could  be  placed  upon  the  word  of  the  Lord,  these  calculations  of 
his  must  be  true,  and  his  conclusions  as  to  the  time  of  the  end  of 
the  world  must  be  valid.  A  considerable  number  of  apparently  good 
Christian  peoj^le  embraced  his  views  with  a  degree  of  confidence 
like  his  own.  It  served  to  strengthen  the  confidence  of  some  of  them 
that  they  devoted  themselves  much  to  prayer,  and  indeed  assumed 
that  the  Lord,  in  answer  to  their  prayers,  taught  them- by  the  im- 
mediate inspiration  of  his  Spirit  how  to  interpret  prophecy  infalli- 
bly. With  their  views  of  this  divine  teaching,  they  supposed  they 
could  dispense  with  the  natural  means  of  ascertaining  the  sense 
of  a  written  prophecy,  being  lifted  at  once  above  the  labor  of 
thought  and  study  upon  the  laws  of  language  and  the  principles 
of  interpretation.     The  confidence  of  presumption  is  often  fearfully 

strong. Mr.   Miller   and   his   followers,  having  fixed  upon  the 

very  day  of  Christ's  coming,  (in  October,  1843,)  it  is  easy  to  sec 
that  influences  of  great  power  were  at  work  to  rouse  their  minds 
to  the  most  intense  pitch  of  excitement  up  to  that  decisive  day,  and 
then  subject  them  to  a  scarcely  less  terrible  reaction  when  on  that 
day  the  sun  rose  and  set  as  usual  and  other  days  folloAved  it  as  of 
old,  and  the  established  policy  of  God's  plan  of  the  world  refused  to 
verify  their  prophetic  calculations.  Some  went  crazy  under  the  strain 
of  this  prodigious  twofold  excitement.  Some  set  themselves  to  recast 
the  scheme  and  fix  other  dates,  a  little  further  ofi:  A  much  greater 
number  sunk  into  a  dark  and  often  morose  skepticism,  their  confi- 
dence in  prayer  lost,  and  their  faith  in  God's  word  shaken  to  its 
very  foundation.  Several  of  their  leading  men  soon  fell  victims  to 
a  degree  and  sort  of  mental  excitement  too  severe  for  even  the 
stoutest  physical  frame  to  bear.  Mr.  Miller,  Kev.  Charles  Fitch, 
and  others,  survived  the  failure  of  their  hopes  and  pi-edictions  but 
a  short  time.  In  general  the  results  followed  the  common  law  of 
nature,  that  action  and  reaction  are  equal.  By  how  much  the  greater 
influence  the  system  had  gained  in  any  community,  by  so  much 
the  more  fearful  and  calamitous  was  the  reactionary  influence  when 


468  DISSERTATION  II. 

the  shock  of  disappointment  came.  Truth  lost  ground  fearfully; 
Error  left  on  the  minds  of  men  its  usual  results  of  moral  mischief 
and  desolation. Hence  it  may  he  for  a  warnini;-  to  future  spec- 
ulators in  prophecy  to  put  on  record  in  this  place  the  links  of 
Miller's  chain  of  argument — the  series  of  false  and  gi-oundlcss 
assumptions  by  which  he  arrived  with  such  confidence  at  a  con- 
clusion which  was  just  as  false  in  view  of  its  principles  before  1843 
came  as  it  was  proved  by  the  fiicts  of  history  to  be  then.     He 

made  these  points: 1.  The  little  horn  of  Dan.  8  is  the  Roman 

Papal  power. 2.    The    "daily  sacrifice"  wdiich  the  little  horn 

"took  away"  (chap.  8:  11-13)  was  the  pagan  worship  of  idols  in 

old  Home. 3.  The  Papal  power  abolished  this  pagan  idolatry  in 

A.    D.  -508  or  A.    D.   538. 4.    The    "sanctuary"    which    was 

"cleansed"  (chap.  8:  14)  is  this  entire  world,  and  its  cleansing  is 

to  be  by  fire  in  1843. Now,  to  find  the  exact  time  of  this  great 

conflagration  and  cleansing,  he  called  in  the  aid  of  chap.  9 : 
23-25. 

Here  he  took  the  following  positions:  1.  The  exhortation  at  the 
close  of  chap.  9:  23;  "Therefore,  understand  the  matter  and  con- 
sider the  vision,"  refers  to  the  vision  in  chap.  8;  and  hence  what 

follow^s   is  an   explanation  of  the  eighth  chapter. 2.    The  tw^o 

points  in  the  vision  of  chap.  8  which  Daniel  did  not  understand ; 
which  he  was  very  anxious  to  understand,  and  which  the  angel 
now  reveals  to  him  were,  (1.)  The  key  to  prophetic  time,  viz.:  that 
he  must  multiply  it  Iby  three  hundred  and  sixty,  i.  e.,  account  each 

day  for  a  year. (2.)  The  starting  point  from  which  to  count  the 

twenty-three  hundred  days,  alias  years. These  two  points,  he 

claimed,  are  clearly  explained  in  these  two  verses  (chap.  9 :  24,  25). 
They  showed  Daniel  that  he  must  count  a  day  to  be  a  year,  and 
that  he  must  begin  to  count  his  twenty-three  hundred  years  from 
the  going  forth  of  that  certain  decree  for  restoring  and  building 

Jerusalem.     This  Mr.  Miller  fixed  at  B.  0.  467. Now  his  data 

are  all  in  readiness,  for  2300 — 407=1843;  that  is,  taking  out  from 
2300  years,  those. 407  years  wdiich  fell  before  Christ,  you  have  re- 
maining those  that  must  come  after  Christ,  viz.,  1843;  wdiich  brings 
you  to  "the  cleansing  of  the  sanctuary;"  i.  e.,  the  purifying  of  this 
entire  world  by  fire  for  the  abode  of  the  risen  saints  at  least  one 

"thousand  years. 3.    Then  further,  to   make   assurance  doubly 

sure,  new  confirmations  are  found  in  chaps.  7  and  12.  For  both 
chap.  7 :  25,  and  chap.  12 :  7,  fix  the  duration  of  the  Papal  poAver 
at  1200  years.  Historically  this  poAver  began  in  A.  D.  538 
and  ended  in  1798.  Then,  since  chap.  12:  12,  pronounces  him 
blessed  wdio  waitcth  and  cometh  to  the  1335th  day,  there  were 
fortj'-five  years  more  to  be  added — "the  time  of  the  end" — and 
this  brings  u^  down  to   1843   for  the  perfect  blessedness  of  the 

righteous. 4.  Yet  again;  since  chap.  12:  11,  makes  the  duration 

of  the  Papal  power  1290  days,  alias  years,  you  have  only  to  begin 
to  count  from  A.  D.  508  and  you  bring  up,  as  before,  at  1798;  and 
if  you  add  to  this  "  the  time  of  the  end,'  (45  years)  wonderful  to 
tell,  you  have  again  the  end  of  the  world  in  1843  !     Thus,  with  as- 


DISSERTATION  II.  469 

tonishing  facility,  all  tho  mystic  numbers  of  Daniel  are  found  to 
converge  upon  1843,  and  combine  their  testimony  to  prove  that  the 
world  shall  be  burned  up  and  cleansed  by  fire  in  this  identical 

year! The  reader  will  notice  that  in  general  these  successive 

points  are  precisely  links  in  a  chain,  all  necessary  to  the  conclusion, 
.so  that 

"  Whatever  link  you  strike. 
Tenth,  or  ten  thousandth,  breaks  the  chain  alike.  ' 

Thus,  if  you  strike  the  day-for-a-year  link,  the  whole  system 
vanishes  into  thin  air.  If  you  touch  the  little-horn-Papal-powcr 
link,  all  goes  down.  If  you  show  that  the  Jewiih  sanctuary  is  not 
this  entire  world,  Miller's  system  has  nothing  left,  and  so  of  the 
rest. 

Let  us  now  pass  these  successive  points — the  links  of  Miller's 
chain — under  a  brief  review,  and  see  if  there  is  even  one  sound 
link  in  the  entire  chain.  1.  The  first  is  that  the  little  horn  of  Dan- 
iel^ and  particularly  of  chap.  8,  is  Papal  Rome. This  can  not  be 

true.  As  shown  in  the  notes  on  that  chapter,  it  is  absolutely  im- 
possible. If  we  will  believe  God's  own  explanation,' we  can  not 
believe  this.  2.  His  second  position  is  that  "  the  daily  sacrifice " 
which  the  little  horn  "took  away"  was  the  pagan  worship  of  idols 

in   Ancient  Eome. Nothing  can  be   more   absurd   than  this; 

nothing  could  be  a  grosser  violation  of  the  laws  of  language.  Tho 
"daily  sacrifice"  was  a  well-known  Jewish  phrase  for  their  own 
stated  worship  at  their  temple.  It  knows  no  other  meaning  in  the 
Hebrew  Bible.  Hence  Mr.  Miller  might  as  well  have  said  that  it 
refers  to  the  carnivals  in  Milton's  Pandemonium,  as  to  say  it  means 
the  pagan  idol-worship  of  the  Koman  empire.  Such  outrages  upon 
all  just  principles  of  interpretation  can  never  be  denounced  too  se- 
verely. As  we  value  the  book  of  God ;  as  we  prize  its  treasures  of 
blessed  truth;  we  must  frown  down  and  reprobate  the  reckless, 
ignorant,  presumptuous  trifling  that  throws  ofl'  such  interpretations 

under    the  solemn  sanction  of  God's   revealed   truth ! 3.    Mr. 

Miller's  third  position  is  that  the  Papal  power  abolished  this  pagan 

idolatry  in  A.  D.  508  or  538. It  will  scarcely  pay  to  follow  out 

historical  statements  so  made  at  random  as  these  are.  Plainly,  if 
this  was  done  at  one  of  these  dates,  it  was  not  done  at  the  other. 
In  fact  neither  date  is  historically  good  for  any  thing.  For,  long 
before  any  properly  Papal  power  came  into  existence,  primitive 
Christianity  had  abolished  paganism  by  permeating  society  with 
its  holy  doctrines  and  spirit ;  by  the  legislation  of  Constantine  about 
A.  D.  325 ;  and  finally  by  the  acts  of  Thcodosius,  A.  D.  3^0-395. 
The  usual  date  for  the  rise  of  the  Papal  poAver  is  about  A.  D.  G06. 
Be  this  as  it  may,  however,  it  was  never  any  thing  distinctively 
Papal  that  abolished  paganism.  If  he  had  said  that  the  Papal 
power  baptized  paganism,  and  then  smuggled  it  into  the  Christian 
church  and  gave  it  thus  a  now  lease  of  life  for  at  least  twelve 
hundred  years  longer,  he  would  have  announced  one  of  the  start- 
ling facts  of  veritable  history.  Note  here  that  if  the  Papal  power 
is  in  Daniel  at  all,  it  is  merely  and  only  as  an  antichristian,  per- 


470  DISSERTATlOiN  II. 

sccuting  power.  Hence  to  maintain  that,  as  such  a  poioer,  it  "took 
away"  and  abolished  the  idol-worship  of  Pagan  Kome,  is  simply 
al)surd  in  idea  and  false  in  f\ict.  .So  that  this  link  of  Mr.  Miller's 
chain  is  not  half  so  strong  as  a  gossamer  thread.  4.  Mr.  Miller's 
fourth   position   is   that  "the  sanctuary"  which  was   "cleansed" 

(chap.  8:  14)  is  this  entire  world. If  Mr.  Miller  had  read  his. 

Kible  with  common  intelligence,  he  would  have  seen  that  "  the 
sanctuary,"  as  spoken  of  by  the  Jews,  always  meant  their  own 
temple.     What  plain,  unprejudiced  liible  reader  ever  failed  to  sec 

this? Further,  the  sanctuary  cleansed  (v.  14)  should  be  the  same 

which  the  little  horn-power  had  just  previously  desecrated  by 
"taking  aAvay  the  daily  sacrifice"  and  "casting  down  the  place  of 
his  sanctuary."  According  to  Mr.  Miller's  holding,  therefore,  the 
sanctuary  to  be  cleansed  should  be  the  pagan  shrines  of  old  Home, 
and  not  the  whole  world. 

Uut  let  tlic  reader  note  especially,  that  with  Mr.  Miller  this  world 
is  called  God's  sanctuary  precisely  ivhcn,  and  apparently  because,  it 
has  become  so  hopelessly  rotten  in  its  moral  corruption  as  to  be  fit 
only  for  conflagration !  That  is,  it  is  God's  sanctuary,  not  as  made 
in  innocence,  wisdom,  and  beauty — "all  very  good;"  not  as  having 
some  nobly  good  men  in  it,  walking  softly  by  faith  and  holding 
communion  with  Jehovah ;  not  in  either  of  these  points  of  light,  but 
as  utterly  corrupt  and  ripe  for  the  fires  of  remediless  judgment! 
Such  a  world,  so  considered,  the  Lord  calls  his  sanctuary.  The 
same  in  principle  as  if  he  were  to  call  hell  itself  his  sanctuary ! 
Was  such  nonsense  ever  jDut  into  a  system  of  prophetic  inter- 
pretation before  ?  And  yet,  with  crimson  check,  I  must  admit  that 
there  Avere  men  and  women  in  enlightened  America  who  believed 
in  Mr.  Miller's  interpretations  of  Daniel  and  in  his  argument. and 

his  dates  for  the  burning  of  the  world  in  1843! Shall  we  follow 

him  now  into  chap.  9,  and  take  note  first  of  the  logic  by  which  lie 

connects  this  chapter  Avith   chap.  8  ? -He  says  "that   Daniel  did 

not  understand  the  vision  of  chap.  8,  but  continued  in  great  per- 
plexity until  the  Jjord  sent  this  new  vision,  recorded  at'the  close 
of  chap.  9,  to  explain  it  and  to  relieve  his  mind.  Specially  he 
affirms  that  the  last  clause  of  v.  23,  "Therefore  understand  the 
matter  and  consider  the  vision,"  refers  explicitly  to  tlie  vision  of 
chap.  8. These  statements  of  his  are  entirely  without  founda- 
tion, and  against  all  tlie  evidence  in  the  case.  1  admit  that  Daniel 
did  not  fully  understand  all  the  points  in  the  vision  of  chap.  8. 
Hence  chaps.  10-12  came  at  length  in  iurther  explanation — real 
explanation — as  its  parallelism  and  its  additional  light  on  the  same 
points  abundantly  show.      Dut  there  is  not  the  least  hijit  in  chap. 

9  which  implies  an  allusion  to  the  topics  of  chap.  8. Again,  the 

Hebrew  of  chap.  9:  23,  is  absolutely  decisive  against  Mr.JMiller's 
position.  "At  the  beginning  of  thy  supplications,  a  word  came 
forth  and  I  have  come  to  set  it  before  thee;  therefore  understand 
the  word— -ihm  same  word  which  came  forth  at  the  beginning  of  thy 
supplications,  and  not  some  other  word,  revealed  years  before,  viz., 
in  the  third  year  of  Dclshazzar.      This  same  word,  now  sent  you, 


DISSERTATION  II.  471 

understand;  and  consider  < Ad?  vision,  i.  e.,  this  vision. Yet  fur- 
ther, the  vv^ord  for  "vision"  here  is  "march,"  but  in  chap.  8:  1,  it 
is  another  Avord,  "hhazon,"  which  essentially  forbids  the  assump- 
tion that  this  vision  of  chap.  9  refers  to  that  of  chap.  8.  These 
two  words  for  "  vision  "  are  not  precisely  synonymous ;  that  in  chap. 
8:1,  being  applied  more  properly  to  a  vision  in  the  sense  of  some- 
thing seen ;  this  in  chap.  9 :  23,  to  one  in  which  something  is  merely 
heard.  Yet  further,  a  little  attention  to  the  scope  of  chap.  9  will 
show  that  the  burden  on  Daniel's  heart  was  not  the  dark  points  of 
the  vision  of  chap.  8,  but  Avas  the  great  sins  of  his  people  which  he 
feared  might  stand  in  the  way  of  their  deliverance  from  their  cap- 
tivity in  Babylon — the  time  for  which,  according  to  the  word  of  the 
Lord  by  Jeremiah,  was  now  close  at  hand.  It  was  precisely  to  lift 
this  burden  from  his  heart  that  the  Lord  showed  him  here  how  at 
the  end  of  sixty-nine  sevens  of  years,  he  would  provide  through 
the  death  of  the  Messiah  for  the  taking  away  of  all  sin  and  the  ful- 
filling of  all  his  good  words  of  prophecy  and  promise.  So  that  Mr. 
Miller  has  utterly  failed  to  see  the  drift  of  this  entire  ninth  chapter, 
and  Jias  most  erroneously  assumed  and  affirmed  a  connection  with 
chap.  8  which  never  existed. 

2.  Yet  further  Daniel  could  not  learn  (as  Mr.  Miller  claims) 
from  the, seventy  weeks  that  the  days  in  prophecy  mean  years;  for, 
as  shown  already,  the  passage  teaches  no  such  thing.  Nor  could 
he  learn  that  the  twenty-three  hundred  days,  at  the  end  of  which 
the  sanctuary  should  be  cleansed,  begin  with  the  decree  for  re- 
storing and  rebuilding  Jerusalem.  There  is  no  shadoAv  of  con- 
nection between  the  one  thing  and  the  other.  What  had  the 
decree  of-Artaxerxes  to  do  with  the  beginning  of  that  "vision  con- 
cerning the  daily  sacrifice  aijd  the  transgression  of  desolation,  and 
the  giving  of  both  the  sanctuary  and  the  host  to  be  trodden  under 
foot?"  Absolutely  nothing.  It  is  only  a  fancy,  a  mere  dream  of 
Mr.  Miller's.     He  might  as  well  have  fixed  his  starting-point  at  the 

creation,  or  at  the  flood. It  is  remarkable  that  he  utterly  ignores 

the  question  in  chap.  8:  13,  to  which  the  twenty-three  hundred 
days  of  V.  14  is  the  answer.  By  what  right  does  any  man  so  dis- 
tort and  pervert  the  words  of  this  holy  book  ? 

3.  Yet  another  remarkable  ooniirmation  is  found  by  Mr.  Miller 
in  the  twelve  hundred  and  sixty  years  of  the  Papal  power  which 
(as  he  asserts)  begins  with  A.  D.  538  and  ends  with  A.  D.  1798. 

Historically,  Mr.  Miller  has  first  to  show  that  the  Papal  power 

began  in  A.  D.  538.  Was  there  any  great  event  in  that  year  which 
brought  into  being  the  identical  persecuting,  antichristian  Papal 
power  which  figures  so  boldly  in  the  world's  history?  Nothing 
special;  no  more  in  that  year  than  in  many  other  years.  But  pass- 
ing that,  did  Mr.  Miller  prove  that  the  Papal  power  perished  and 
came  to  an  utter  end  in  A.  D.  1798?  Who  does  not  know  that 
the  Papal  power  as  truly  lives  to-day  as  it  lived  in  1797,  or  at 
any  point  of  the  eighteenth  century?  It  is  simply  a  great  his- 
torical falsehood  to  assert  that  the  Papal  power  perished  and 
ceased  from  the  earth  in  A.  D.  1798 !     A  man  might  just  as  well 


472  DISSERTATION  II. 

say  it  ceased  three  hundred  years  ago. Let  this  examination  of 

Mr.  Miller's  chain  of  assumed  proofs  that  the  world  must  burn  up 
in  1843  suffice.  Let  that  system  stand  as  a  fearful  illustration  of 
the  mischiefs  of  reckless  tampering  with  prophetic  interpretation — 
a  solemn  warning  to  men  avIio  lack  every  quality  of  a  safe  inter- 
preter, Avho  have  neither  the  learning,  nor  the  judgment,  nor  the 
plain  common  sense  that  are  indispensable — that  they  refrain  from 
mangling  and  torturing  the  prophetic  words  of  the  Lord !  It  was 
not  without  good  reason  that  through  the  last  great  revclator,  the 
Lord  closed  the  last  Bible  prophecy  with  the  terrible  dcnounce- 
_  ment:  "1  testify  to -every  man  that  heareth  the  words  of  the  proph- 
ecy of  this  book;  If  any  man  shall  add  unto  these  things,  God  shall 
add  unto  him  the  plagues  that  are  written  in  this  book ;  and  if  any 
man  shall  take  away  from  the  words  of  the  book  of  this  prophecy, 
God  shall  take  aAvay  his  part  out  of  the  book  of  life."     Rev.  22 : 

18,  19. Mr.  Miller's  system  found  some  of  the  pillars  of  its 

strength  in  the  mistakes  of  previous  interpreters,  especially  in  these 
two,  viz.,  that  days  in  prophecy  mean  years,  and  that  the  little  horn 
in  Daniel's  visions  is  the  Koman  papal  power.  The  former  of  these 
is  entirely  fundamental  in  all  those  schemes  which  attempt  to  fix 
the  time  for  the  second  advent  of  Christ,  or  the  precise  time  for  the 
millennium  to  begin. The  latter  is  beyond  all  questioji  a  mis- 
take, a  fallacy  in  tlie  interpretation  of  Daniel,  and  one  that  can  not 
fail  to  be  fraught  with  mischief     Let  the  use  made  of  these  errors 

by  Mr.  Miller  be  an  admonition  to  the  churches ! Of  the  day  and 

the  year  of  Christ's  second  coming,  no  man  will  know  till  it  comes. 
At  what  time  the  great  Roman  Antichrist  shall  fall,  no  prophecy  of 
Daniel  teaches,  for  the  good  reason  that  he  says  nothing  on  this 
subject..  It  is  safer  to  conclude  that  it  will  fall  when  Evangelical 
Protestant  Christendom  shall  do  h(?r  duty,  and  through  God's  help 
shall  make  the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  which  is  the  Word  of  God, 
mighty  to  cast  down  all  the  formalities,  idolatries,  and  corruptions 
of  that  great  system  of  religious  delusion.  For  even  if  God  shall 
some  day  send  the  fires  of  his  judgment  upon  her  to  her  destruc- 
tion, he  will  first  exhaust  the  force  of  his  truth  for  her  salvation — 
till  it  shall  prove  itself  in  vain!  This,  as  we  have  seen  in  the  case 
of  American  slavery,  is  the  law  of  God's  mercy  toward  great  sys- 
tems of  iniquity.  Try  them  with  moral  appliances  first;  these  fail- 
ing, his  red  thunderbolts  fall  when  and  where  they  must!  ^lay 
God  hasten  and  bless  tlie  pressure  of  the  gospel's  power  upon  the 
heart  of  the  Papal  Church!  And  may  his  people  be  content  to  be 
workers  together  with  God  for  her  salvation  rather  than  prophets 
of  her  fall! 


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